Michael Cahill

In the west Kerry Gaeltacht, Gaeltacht Chorca Dhuibhne, we have the linguistic town of Dingle - An Daingean, Ceann Trá, Dún Chaoin, An Fheothanach agus Baile an Fheirtéaraigh. In Gaeltacht Uíbh Ráthaigh, we have the service town of Cahersiveen, Baile an Sceilg, An Dromaid, An Ghleann agus An Caladh. These are the two main Gaeltacht areas in County Kerry. There is a strong need to increase the numb…

8. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [69863/25]

A new stand-alone oncology unit for University Hospital Kerry is vital for all cancer patients and their families in Kerry. I impress upon the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health the urgent requirement to have a stand-alone oncology-haematology unit on the grounds of UHK to provide Kerry patients with the dignity, privacy and comfort they deserve during one of the most challenging periods of the…

At the outset, I acknowledge the tremendous work the Minister of State is putting into this area at a very difficult time. He has visited every single fishing community at this stage. He is working night and day on this, meeting all the people involved in the industry, visiting fishing communities, meeting fishermen and fisherwomen, and owners of processing plants which export our fish and shellfi…

10. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if funding will be provided to tackle costal erosion and flooding in Rossbeigh, Waterville, Kenmare, Tralee, Listowel, Glenbeigh, Dooks, Cromane Lower, Killorglin and Glosha; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10966/26]

I am raising the matter of funding for a host of locations across County Kerry, including Rossbeigh, Cromane Lower, Killorglin, Whitestrand, Cahersiveen, Waterville, Ballinskelligs and the major flood relief schemes there for Tralee and Kenmare.

We need coastal protection works, flood relief schemes and marram grass initiatives, among other initiatives. We need to expedite funding for these schemes. From my experience, and I have been shouting about coastal erosion and flooding for almost 40 years now, this situation is not given the urgency it deserves. We seem to wait until the damage is done after big storms where there has been major …

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge that he visited Kerry and Rossbeigh, where I live, and saw for himself the situation there. There will be a public meeting at 6.30 p.m. this evening in the Towers Hotel. The Minister of State also visited Cromane where homes have been destroyed in the past. I have been in houses when there was 3 ft of saltwater in them. In 2015, I was a member of a dep…

At the outset, I acknowledge the tremendous work that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has carried out over many years now. Absolutely no one knows more about the CAMHS scandal, as it is now known, in Kerry than the Minister of State. I acknowledge that at all times when meetings were requested, etc., she agreed to attend. As a councillor many years ago now, I was invited up by the south Kerr…

I thank the Minister of State.

I acknowledge the work that has been done here. I call for the outstanding cases to be expedited and dealt with as soon as possible. I recall the first and second time I was up here and one of the representatives of the recent hunger strikers. I acknowledge the fact that at the time, the HSE issued an apology but I reiterate a call I have made many times, which is that they deserve a public apolog…

I raise again the issue of flooding in Cromane, which the Minister of State visited, and coastal erosion in Rossbeigh. In Killorglin town, at Lower Bridge Street, properties are being affected by flooding on a regular basis. I was contacted recently about the area at the fishery which is subject to flooding as well. We need help and I know the Minister of State has said time and again that there …

3. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Taoiseach which Cabinet committee oversees agriculture; and when it will next meet. [67677/25]

I raise the matter of compensation ceilings currently in place for tuberculosis, TB, reactors. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial impacts of bovine TB on farmers and their families. An outbreak of TB can be soul-destroying. The on-farm market valuation scheme is the principal compensation measure available to farmers who experience a TB outbreak in their herd. The scheme aims to com…

2. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Taoiseach for an update regarding the programme for Government. [71592/25]

I want to raise a number of urgent school issues affecting school principals, teachers, children and parents across County Kerry. In an urban primary school in Killarney, Presentation Monastery National School, more than 85% of pupils do not speak English at home, with 44 nationalities among the 170 pupils. Despite this, there is no DEIS primary school in the Killarney area. Over the past two year…

-----St. Brendan's College in Killarney, which the Taoiseach has seen for himself. It requires tens of millions in funding for redevelopment.

There are a number of issues there.

It is fair to say there is huge disquiet with regard to this issue. Farmers across the country, and indeed at home in Kerry, are very angry. It is fair to say we pride ourselves on the quality of our beef and the high standards we set. Farmers have been subjected to onerous inspections regularly. I appreciate that there have been a number of calls for the chairman of Bord Bia to resign. I think th…

I wish to raise a number of issues in Kerry that I have raised previously in this Chamber, starting with the road realignment and footpath out from Laune bridge in Killorglin out as far as the Fexco research, development and innovation, RDI, hub at Anglont on the Killorglin-Killarney road. This campaign by the residents is going on for at least 40 years now. It was going on in my father's time. Re…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and to place on record the very real pressures facing families and childcare providers across County Kerry. While affordability is often discussed, the fundamental issue for many families is access. Quite simply, childcare places are not available. Parents contact my office daily to say that they are on multiple waiting lists and that there are no pl…

150. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to allow for modular housing and low-cost sites, to address the urgent housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4551/26]

I commend the Minister and his junior Ministers on the tireless work they are doing on the housing crisis. Will the Minister provide funding to Kerry County Council to construct modular homes as part of the solution for social and affordable housing? Will the Minister allow Kerry County Council to grant planning permission to individuals and families who wish to construct a modular home? Will the …

In every corner of County Kerry today, there are individuals, couples and families who wish to build or buy a family home. Even though they are in good jobs, they cannot get a mortgage big enough to buy or build. These are nurses in University Hospital Kerry, teachers, members of an Garda Síochána, employees of good companies like Liebherr and Fexco in Killorglin, etc. Constituents who I am meetin…

We must give an opportunity to those on middle incomes. They are caught between social housing and being able to afford to build their own homes. I believe the modular home is a solution. Low-cost sites are an incentive there as well to help these people get on the property ladder. To achieve this, yet again, as I mentioned, we have over 40 unsewered villages in County Kerry and a number of others…