This is going to be my last Leaders' Questions with the Taoiseach as his term draws to a close.

The Deputy is devastated.

In the past two years, I have raised over 50 questions of serious national west Cork concerns. Looking back, I must say many of these issues got worse rather than better under his leadership. I noticed some of the same frustration we experience in west Cork at the launch of Councillor Shane P. O'Reilly's campaign for the Rural Independent Group in the next general election in Cavan-Monaghan. A packed room vented its anger at the Government and gave us and Councillor O'Reilly a clear mandate. I will go back two and a half years. The first for the chop under the Taoiseach's guidance was the fishing industry. It is almost destroyed with his acceptance of a shocking Brexit deal, plus sea fisheries penalty points that he signed into law, as well as an inability to fight for any extra quota, not even bluefin tuna, when the rest of Europe has that quota.

I have raised the farming crisis. The Government is asleep at the wheel. It has seen the destruction of farm incomes as it ploughs ahead with this ludicrous Green Party policy of cutting the national herd, as well as applying carbon tax on farm fuel, thus crippling the farming sector. I raised our energy independence and the over-reliance on the UK for our fuel.

I spoke to the Taoiseach about the possibility of exploring for our own fuel off Barryroe and a floating liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal off Cork Harbour, only to be met with deaf ears. I also spoke to the Taoiseach about people who were waiting for five years in Cork for operations such as cataract operations. Two and a half years later, the people of Cork city and county must still wait for five years.

I raised the closure of Bank of Ireland banks in Bantry and Dunmanway and post offices such as that in Goleen in west Cork but nothing has happened. They closed. Castletownbere, Dunmanway and Kinsale banks almost went cashless under the Taoiseach's watch until the Rural Independent Group stepped in and put a stop to it.

Bantry General Hospital is always a great concern of my constituents. The new accident and emergency unit was closed to the public for close to a month and not a sod has been turned on the ever-promised endoscopy unit or stroke unit in the Taoiseach’s term. His only visit to the hospital was overshadowed by the announcement days later that seven beds were to be closed in the mental health unit.

I have also raised the issues of funding for Keelbeg Pier, Union Hall; a stand-alone statue in Dublin to remember General Michael Collins; the closure of CoAction houses in Castletownbere; a helicopter service for Dursey Island, as people have no fresh food there; water shortages in Clonakilty; and the crisis in the ambulance service for patients and staff. I have raised all these during the Taoiseach’s term but my calls have fallen on deaf ears.

On 2 June 2021, I raised the All-Island Research Observatory, AIRO, report, compiled by Cork County Council. This independent report showed that Cork county was 52 years behind other counties in respect of funding under the local improvement scheme and CLÁR, in addition to funding for roads and rural regeneration. The report found that Cork county was the county fourth from the bottom in getting LEADER funding in spite of its being the largest in the country. To address this independent report, I pleaded with the Taoiseach in June 2021 to meet the then Fianna Fáil mayor, Councillor Gillian Coughlan, to address this astonishing shortfall affecting the county. To my astonishment, neither the Taoiseach, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, nor the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, ever met the council to discuss and address this critical independent report on Cork county, which, if acted upon, could help bring the funding level of Cork county up to that of the rest of Ireland. Why has the Taoiseach not met Cork County Council to address this report during his term?

I thank the Deputy for raising those issues. The country has enjoyed full employment for the past two years, having come out of Covid. West Cork has not been immune from this. Agricultural incomes have gone up over recent years, despite what the Deputy said. They went up significantly last year.

I was in Ringaskiddy at the weekend, on Saturday. The Mayor of the County of Cork was present also. He would have witnessed the transformation in the community centre in the town, reflecting the strong spirit of the community and the strong LEADER grant of about €300,000 that was responsible for the transformation of the centre. It is carbon neutral and highly energy efficient, and it has a wonderful room. This is really an illustration of the transformation that has happened not only across west Cork but across the rest of rural Ireland regarding the allocation of substantial funding and working opportunities created within community centres. The Ringaskiddy centre is just one example of where a significant sum was made available. A sum of €379 million has been allocated since 2020 by the Department of Rural and Community Development to projects under the rural regeneration and development fund. The Deputy did not mention that once in his commentary. It was almost as if he did not see any of it.

The outdoor recreation and infrastructure scheme should also be acknowledged, along with the public-realm work that is ongoing in many areas across west Cork, CLÁR, the town and village renewal scheme and the local improvement scheme, but the Deputy simply ignored them all. It is as if they never happened, even though the Deputy was agitating a lot for the funding and ringing up Departments, county councils and everybody to get a slice of the action. That is no harm, and I do not have any issue with the Deputy doing that, but he will endeavour, as usual, to claim credit for it over Government Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan or somebody else like that.

If we got it, I would, but we did not.

The Deputy should talk to the Mayor of the County of Cork. He is opening a lot of developments. The urban relief road in Carrigaline has been transformative in addressing the congestion there. It gives very quick access to Minane and places further along. We will seek further improvements to the LEADER and CLÁR programmes, but the Deputy must surely acknowledge the additional funding that was earmarked for projects right across west Cork.

The Croí Cónaithe towns fund will be useful for any vacant property refurbishment that is required. Towns to the west could benefit from substantial grants under the fund.

People could establish homes and live in them. They could benefit from significant grants from the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, which can go from €30,000 to €50,000.

There are conditions.

As for fisheries, as the Deputy knows, Brexit was the key factor there. We have brought in funding from the Brexit adjustment fund, which will help in that regard.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply and trek around Ringaskiddy and Carrigaline in his own constituency, where all of the projects he has spoken about are happening. Nothing much has happened in west Cork during the Taoiseach's run. I asked him about the AIRO report and why he did not meet with the council. He refused to answer and continues to refuse to meet the council. His inability to address the independent report that shows quite clearly that Cork county is an astonishing 52 years behind at all State funding levels has left Cork County Council with no choice but to raise rates for hard-pressed businesses by 3.5% yesterday.

The Taoiseach had almost two years to deal with the report but chose, for whatever reason, to turn a blind eye to it; the same blind eye he turned towards roads in west Cork. As a leader from Cork, I had some hope that the Taoiseach would have seen the desperate need for a bypass in Innishannon and the finishing of the southern bypass in Bandon, as well as progressing plans for the northern relief road in Bandon, coupled with the Bantry relief road, but nothing has happened other than pothole repair on these vital roads. On the N71 from Bandon to Clonakilty and Clonakilty to Skibbereen, people can spend 20 to 30 minutes behind a lorry or a tractor, as the plea for funding for simple passing bays fell on deaf ears. After two and a half years as leader of our country, what will the Taoiseach's legacy be for the people of west Cork? I can see little or none.

There has been a 50% increase in LEADER funding for west Cork and Cork county in general. The Deputy knows about the Bandon flood relief scheme, which has received huge public funding, and €5 million has gone into the Bandon public realm project. The Clonakilty and Skibbereen flood relief schemes have been funded. Significant public money is going into west Cork and the Deputy knows that. That will continue. I travel in west Cork a lot, in particular during the summer when there are a lot of championship matches there because the county board always sends us there for a variety of reasons. I can get from A to B relatively quickly. I was in Clonakilty during the summer when major investment in a treasury company in Clonakilty Park was announced. There has been a dramatic increase in employment and significant investment, which is a huge vote of confidence.

Global Shares.

Yes, Global Shares. When Mr. Dimon arrived, he could not get over the productivity of the workers in Clonakilty. An international financial services company based in west Cork is doing outstanding work. The Deputy should be careful. I do not mind him raising issues but he should not paint a picture of one long tale of misery. One thing west Cork is not is miserable.