I will start with some criticism I heard about the Government's introduction of a lower rate for the hospitality sector. I welcome that from the bottom of my heart because I know what it means. It tells you how out of touch with reality the Social Democrats, the Labour Party and People Before Profit are that they do not understand the benefit of the VAT rate going down from 13% to 9%. It is an astonishing attack on ordinary small businesses throughout the country that they come in here time and again condemning the Government for lowering that VAT rate when we know, as do the people on the ground, that it will mean the very survival of a lot of cafes throughout the country. I welcome that, as I always have. I pushed for it also. I will not stand up here and be critical about it. It is scandalous to think that these parties are so out of touch. I know businesses the length and breadth of west Cork and Ireland, because I have met a lot of them, are furious with the Social Democrats, the Labour Party and People Before Profit who are attacking them continuously for getting that chance of survival. Even though I wish it was done straight away, it happened during the year. They needed that and the Government has given them that chance and that is something we all have to welcome and not attack. They keep throwing that decrease in with the McDonald's carry on. It is an outrageous attack on small businesses to peg them to that sector and it is not fair. I have raised disability here. Those with disabilities lost €1,400 in the last budget. That is an astonishing attack on a lot of elderly people and people who have severe disabilities who cannot fight back. They have seen energy costs increase and the blister pack cost coming on board. It is another hit. These people are suffering. They are mainly elderly people who need a little respect and do not need to be picked on but that is what the Government has done. The blister pack thing is outrageous and we will debate it later on. Energy credits were given last year, prior to the budget and the general election. They gave people hope that the Government was giving them serious consideration and was sympathetic towards their needs but by God it sure showed this time that it did not care now that the election was over. There are 300,000 people in serious debt and they desperately need the Government to intervene. They do not know whether or not they will have a light on for Christmas. That is a serious blow to anybody, regardless of what they think people have. I would appreciate it if the Government looked at that again. There is no point saying there are lots of pluses in the budget if the Government turns around and hits the most vulnerable in society like those with disabilities and those who cannot pay bills. I looked at a lot of expenditure and announcements in the budget. I do not see any announcement for roads like the N71 in west Cork, the R585 or the R586, the Innishannon bypass, the northern or southern Bandon relief road, the Bantry bypass or the Clonakilty bypass. There is nothing - zero. The AIRO report a number of years ago was drawn up by an independent body for Cork County Council and made it clear that Cork County Council was getting the lowest amount of money for roads and for so many other budgets. Nothing has changed. On roads all the way from Innishannon to Skibbereen you cannot pass a car. I hear the Minister goes to Kinsale on and off for meetings and things like that. You cannot pass a car. There are no passing bays. People are pulling the hair out their heads. This leads to accidents, unfortunately. It is time to spend money on roads. We do not have rail. That should surely mean extra would be put into roads in those areas if they do not have rail. We do not even have a sign for 150 km of roadway to rail in west Cork. Then there is this thing called Connecting Ireland, which is a farce. If you cannot deliver rail, you cannot connect and you cannot deliver proper road structure. There is something wrong somewhere and someone is not talking. Our politicians in west Cork, who are in government, whether from Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, are not delivering for the people of west Cork. That is the bottom line. Year in, year out, and I am here since 2016, I have asked for passing bays. I have not asked for flyovers or anything dramatic. I am asking for common sense passing bays and they are refused continuously. God almighty, if they would step aside for six-months, we would have it done. We would need no help. We would put in a machine and get the goddamn roads widened and let people get on with their business. We would let the tractor and the lorry driver drive on the N71 and spend an hour or hour and a half getting from A to B while not holding up the motorist who is trying to get on with their business. There needs to be a real awakening as to what is going on in the real world. I will move on to wastewater. We need more housing in west Cork and the wastewater is in an absolutely scandalous condition. We have Shannonvale, which was brought up by Councillor Daniel Sexton last week. There is black water for people to drink in Shannonvale and Clonakilty. Uisce Éireann is not accountable. It does not have to answer questions. It is the same in Rosscarbery, Dunmanway, Ballydehob and Goleen. I could go on. Tomorrow morning, we will read an EPA report saying what the farmers are doing wrong but it will not point the finger at the reality of the crisis. The reality of the crisis is that wastewater treatment tanks are bursting raw sewage into our beautiful waters. Those are the facts, and I am raw from saying it. I spent the past number of months looking to have a meeting about Adrigole. We are supposed to have a meeting but I do not see any date. People have had 14 disruptions in their water the past number of months. It is unfair for any community to have to put up with that. No one should expect that in a modern society. We cannot find out when the council will come in and dig up the pipe, give them the funding and deliver a proper water structure for the people of Adrigole. There are suggestions and solutions from the community and we are begging. That is not being delivered. We look then at where money is being spent and wasted. Millions of euro are being wasted by TII on greenways without any consultation but only dictation to landowners. I have seen it in west Cork. There is no such thing as sitting down to talk with a landowner. It will take a 20 m tar roadway through their farm whether they like it or not. Jesus, you would not expect that in a dictator's world but we are accepting it in this country. The Minister is the man with his fingers on the purse and he has to ask whether this money is being spent properly. Are these landowners being dictated to? In the Cooley Peninsula, 1,000 people attended a meeting two weeks ago in a fury about their land being taken from them. God almighty, the Minister would not expect his land to be taken from him and neither would I. We expect that there is a right for these genuine, hardworking farming people to have their land swiped from under them, whether they like it or not that. That is where the wastage of money is coming into play. The people of Kilcrohane, the Sheep's Head Peninsula, the Sheep's Head way and the Beara Way were never dictated to. There was never a CPO put on lands, only a lovely walkway made with consultation. TII can now dictate by wagging a CPO in front of somebody. We have to cop on. This is Ireland in 2025 and we have to respect the people who live in it and pay their taxes in it. We have a lot of discussions regarding childcare and many families are in dire straits. What frustrates me is what people are genuinely saying when I meet them. They say they have two great incomes coming into their house but they cannot survive. There is something wrong when you hear that and when people honestly admit they have two good incomes coming into the home but they still cannot survive. There is something seriously wrong. Childcare costs are astronomical and are out of control. We have sat by idly in here and allowed that to happen. There is talk about a rainy day fund. I sincerely hope the Government has €110 million because that is what is costing fisheries because of that stinking, rotten deal done in Europe last Friday. Fishermen are going to be €112 million out of pocket. I plead with the Minister to find that €112 million because it looks like the national Exchequer is going to have to pay that money. Is the Minister going to throw crumbs to the Irish fishermen and expect they are going to take it? It is a wipe-out. I have met people with trawlers that have spent €6 million, €8 million, €10 million and €12 million to put a good trawler out to sea to bring Irish fish back into our own country. Now, we have Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries robbing our Irish fish and we have allowed them. We have patted them on the back, we have praised them and we have given them a great honour to do that. It is time to stand up and prove a budget is for the people. It has not been for the people for the past number of years, and certainly the last budget was one of the most scandalous budgets ever in the State.

Sentiment score: -0.01