2026-07-14

10. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the criteria used for the designation of SÍOL areas; whether these areas will be expanded in future funding tranches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53259/26]

Táim féin agus an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Buttimer tar éis sárobair a chur isteach chun SÍOL a chur ar an mbóthar. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta freisin mar iarArd-Mhéara as a thaithí leis seo. I thank the Deputy for sharing his experience with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, in relation to urban disadvantage. SÍOL was launched on 8 July. It means "seed" in English. It actually stands for scéim infheistíochta ag obair le chéile, which translates to "working together investment scheme". It aims to target small areas of disadvantage in our towns and cities, providing funding for infrastructure to improve the areas and the lives of the communities. The areas chosen are those with the highest population of extreme disadvantage. The new programme is focused initially on 15 areas that have been designated as SÍOL. The areas were selected using an evidence base which included the Pobal HP deprivation index, information from the CSO report, Urban and Rural Life in Ireland, and research by the ESRI. We also looked at the areas in Ireland already covered by the CLÁR programme to ensure geographical complementarity. Capital funding of €31.5 million has been secured by the Minister, Deputy Buttimer, and me up to 2030. We announced an allocation of €5 million for 2026 and I plan to increase that amount over time, with annual funding expected to reach €7 million by 2030. The Department will keep SÍOL under review, with a view to potentially adding additional areas on an annual basis. Any area added will be based on the Pobal HP deprivation index and CSO and ESRI evidence.

I will segue a little into Deputy Tóibín's contribution in relation to an Ghaeilge. I was reared in Cois Fharraige, Connemara, in the Gaeltacht. The change in attitude towards the Irish language in Cois Fharraige and the Gaeltacht is nothing less than transformational. When I went to school, an Ghaeilge was not cool. That is the bottom line among the younger generations. That is where the idea of nine Irish speakers converting to speaking English with the single English speaker comes from. That is no longer the case in Connemara, as far as I am concerned. It is very hard to pinpoint what happened. I think a combination of TG4, "Ros na Rún", Telegael, Gteic and that type of stuff has made it cool again to speak the Irish language. There is an entire generation, the next generation down, which is supportive of Irish and favourable to it. If the Minister were to walk into Siopa an Phobail in Indreabhán, the nine speakers will convert the other way round. I have a couple of other questions to ask, but I will leave it at that for now.

Aontaím go mór leis an Teachta. Tá sé iontach an spreagadh chun na Gaeilge a fheiceáil. I spent three summers in Baile na hAbhann in Coláiste Uí Chadhain, so I know the Indreabhán area very well. Tá an Teachta fíor. Freisin tá sé bunaithe ar mhúinteoirí. It is based on teaching, our naíonraí and our Gaelscoileanna. That is why we need more Gaelcholáistí. I have a very strong view that we have to continue this journey through the education system. We are forever in this House kicking social media, but TikTok has a lot of stuff on the Gaeltacht. There are some fantastic podcasts, such as "How To Gael". Social media has actually turned out to be a good friend of an Ghaeilge agus an Ghaeltacht. Tá sé sin tábhachtach. Sin an fáth a bhfuil cúrsaí cosúil le Gaeilge365 chomh tábhachtach. Gaeilge365, which has extended from Dublin City Council to all four Dublin local authorities, is innovative. It is using things differently. It is using Gaeilge in a day-to-day fun way. Every local authority can learn from it.

Tiocfaidh mé ar ais go SÍOL ar feadh nóiméid. I welcome SÍOL. As the Minister has said, síol is the Irish word for seed. It is very positive. It can make a huge difference, if funded properly, to those communities the Minister mentioned in terms of disadvantage. I understand it provides capital and project funding? Can the Minister confirm that? Like any TD, I am interested in areas in my own constituency and there is serious deprivation in parts of Coolock and Darndale. The Minister referred to funding of €5 million for this year. Will it be up to the local authorities to advance initiatives in tandem with the use of Pobal's data? How will that work? Should we be working with our local authorities to advance particular projects or ideas in areas? How can we help to bring those forward?

The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I were conscious that the scheme was only capital. We wanted to keep it very simple initially and get the projects rolled out. In terms of the current programme, in the 15 areas, there is a closing date of mid-August. It comes from the local authorities. We will make sure we get money quickly to local authorities. A regular complaint from local authorities in relation to our schemes is that it costs them money to implement them. A total of 5% of the budget will go toward each managing local authority to cater for the management of the project locally. The projects will be small. They could be local health and sports projects and initiatives. I have compared it in some places to CLÁR for these 15 urban areas. They are small, important local capital projects that otherwise would not happen. The projects will be 100% funded, with no local contribution required. It is our intention that, with increased resources, we will keep the scheme open for potential expansion. I know the area the Deputy mentioned. We have good engagement with the Northside Partnership, which does fantastic work and the Minister of State and I respect that work. We look forward to working with the Deputy in relation to that.