As I said, my understanding is that a long-term leasehold on the facility was acquired from Dublin City Council. In the first instance, this is a matter between Dublin City Council and the organisation concerned.
In relation to approving and granting funds, we check to make sure that applications meet the criteria and that the access conditions are fulfilled. We will continue to do that in relation to all applicatio…
TDs / Charlie McConalogue
Charlie McConalogue
Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
105,063
words spoken in the chamber
105,063 as a minister, 0 as a TD
390
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
The record holds no parliamentary questions from them in this Dáil.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 317 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 |
| March 2025 | 10 |
| April 2025 | 2 |
| May 2025 | 17 |
| June 2025 | 17 |
| July 2025 | 5 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 6 |
| November 2025 | 15 |
| December 2025 | 14 |
| January 2026 | 25 |
| February 2026 | 13 |
| March 2026 | 23 |
| April 2026 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 31 |
| June 2026 | 55 |
| July 2026 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 11 |
| October 2026 | 63 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 263 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Donegal 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media 29 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport 2 June 2025 to now
The Government is very much focused on promoting lifelong participation in physical activity and sport for all sectors of society and communities. Our sport for all approach aims to ensure that all persons have the opportunity to participate equally in sport and physical activity, regardless of age, socio-economic status, disability or membership of the LGBTI+ community, the Traveller community or other ethnic minori…
We want to be as flexible as we possibly can in supporting all clubs to develop facilities. One source of pressure on clubs is the wonderful increase in female participation in sport in general. That creates additional need for facilities. That is something we want to support through the community sports facilities fund and something we will look at closely. It is important when we give funding that there is assuranc…
In relation to making land available, we want to encourage municipal and multipurpose facilities, particularly through working with local authorities. I encourage the Deputy at local level working with the local authorities-----
-----to see what the opportunities are there.
The focus of the Department of sport's funding will be on developing facilities and investing in facilities. We do not have a plan to open that funding up to purchasing land. Were we to do that, many clubs across the country would seek to purchase land under it. Our objective is to put the facilities in place. The primary objective is for the club, partnering with local …
I thank Deputy O'Rourke. I propose to take Questions Nos. 141, 150, 157, 160, 163, 166, 167, 171, 188 and 198 together.
The programme for Government commits to continuing the community sports facilities fund and to directing its funding to disadvantaged areas and groups that are currently under-represented in terms of participation.
My Department’s statement of strategy for 2025 to 2028 commits to continuing to inv…
The plan is to open it in late May or June, with the objective of having funding announcements committed to and the process completed by the end of the year. As I travel around the country, it is very clear that clubs and volunteers are doing phenomenal work and that participation is growing all the time. That is putting pressure on facilities in clubs across all sports. We just discussed the great growth in female p…
On what Deputy O'Rourke said, we know that there are particular challenges with access to swimming pool facilities across the country. That is why the Government provided €100,000 to Swim Ireland to compile the needs analysis report. I have met representatives from the organisation to discuss how we can step that out now. We now know where the challenges are, and we need to decide how we can best respond to them. Clu…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 180 together.
I thank the Deputy. The LSSIF was established, as the Deputy knows, to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects and the cumulative investment since 2020 is €297 million across 68 projects. While the LSSIF is closed to applications at present, our focus is on ensuring that project delivery under the first two rounds of the LSSIF is followed t…
The LSSIF has been an important fund. The current national sports strategy, published in 2018, identified the need to establish a LSSIF at Government level. Outside the community sports facilities fund, there were many projects of scale that simply could not get the funding together to allow them to happen. That was a real gap in our national support network.
We have had two rounds so far. The first was in 2019 and …
I could not agree more with the Deputy. Communities do not thrive if they do not have the sporting and community infrastructure. Increasingly, and more than ever, sport is central to having healthy communities.
The project in Carrigaline is exactly the type of project we want to come forward across the country. I am certainly happy to meet those involved in relation to their plans the next time I am in Cork. I will …
I propose to take Questions Nos. 142, 143, 159 and 179 together.
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. As she knows, the operation of the League of Ireland and its academies is driven by the Football Association of Ireland, which, like all governing bodies, works independently. It is like all the governing bodies that we, in the Government, want to support. I agree with the Deputy that it has been wonderful to …
I noticed that. The Deputy is ready for the matches ahead and will not have to buy anything new. We are all at one. We agree. It has been heartening and energising to see what has been happening at League of Ireland level. It feeds down to the grassroots and inspires young people. The wonderful thing about football is that people can play one-on-one or two against two. All that is needed is a couple of jumpers and a …
I thank Deputy Currie. We want to make sure the investment we are making through academies is used to the best effect possible. The FAI is working, with the guidance of Sport Ireland, to use its experience to ensure that system is structured in the best way. It is also working with premier and first division clubs to see how we can make sure there is good regional reach in terms of academies. Another development over…
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Everyone involved in sport, in any capacity, regardless of age, should be able to enjoy an experience that is free from any form of abuse. The creation of a culture that promotes the safety and welfare of all must be at the core of the operation of all sports, from national governing bodies right down to grassroots and fans and spectators.
Sport Ireland is the statutory aut…
I thank Deputy Moynihan. We have supported Sport Ireland in the development of this in the first instance. Sport Ireland provides governance and administration guidance for the sport sector, and the findings from the review will be factored into and incorporated into that. Obviously, there will be lessons and assessments from the report. It is key they are utilised in day-to-day practice. Sport Ireland will ensure th…
Referees are absolutely crucial for the participation of teams. They often find themselves in roles that are not as respected as they should be. In terms of providing a safe environment for adults, the role of referees has to be central in the report and to how we provide that environment in sport.
Some sports have a much better ethos and culture than others. We have to work to get to a situation where that is unifo…
While it would be my wish that athletes from all parts of Ireland should have the choice to represent the whole of Ireland at all major international competitions, as is the case at the Olympic Games, neither the Government nor Sport Ireland has a role in determining who can participate in international competitions organised by international sporting federations. International sporting federations are responsible fo…
I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for raising this matter. What happened in Oriel Park on Friday evening was an abhorrent and criminal act. It involved taking flares to the stadium, setting them alight and throwing them onto the pitch. It led to a very tragic injury to a young 12-year-old boy. All of our thoughts are with him and his family for his recovery. Our thoughts are also with those who were distressed by what happened…
I absolutely agree with the Deputy that it has been fantastic to see people of all ages and families coming to League of Ireland matches and the growth both in Premier Division and First Division attendances, and indeed, as well as the introduction of a new third tier to the League of Ireland, which will happen imminently. That is something that we want to see encouraged. It is down to the quality of the product on t…
I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to discuss the role of the Department of Education and Youth’s emergency works scheme. The purpose of the emergency works scheme is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to providing funding to facilitate inclusion an…
I will certainly relay the points the Deputy made back to the Minister. The response I have been given outlines the difference between the emergency works scheme in terms of the criteria to qualify for it and for the summer works scheme. The Department is making the case that the downpipe issue is a matter that would qualify for the summer work scheme as opposed to the emergency works scheme, even though, as should a…
I thank Deputy Cronin for raising this matter. It gives me an opportunity to set out for the House, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, the position with regard to long waiting lists for post-primary school places across north Kildare.
I assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post-primary level, including those with special e…
I will relay to the Minister for education the Deputy's comments and the representations she has made on this issue on the floor of the Dáil today.
To touch further on the assessment of need and demand for school places in a school area, the Department uses data from a range of sources, including child benefit data, enrolments and information on new residential developments, to plan for school place needs. As has be…
I thank Deputy Wall for raising this matter today. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with Members of the House on behalf of the Minister for Transport and to provide an update on this pilot scheme in County Kildare. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national cycle network. The national cycle network was published in 2024 and identi…