Joanna Byrne

130. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the total amount of both LSSIF and CSFF funding drawn down in 2025; the list of all groups that received funding, in tabular form; if, in light of the arduous grant applications process and difficulties organisations have found with the LSSIF-CSFF process, he has recognised this difficulty, resulting in future rounds…

I am delighted for all the successful applicants and I know the funding will be put to good use. All of these grants are vital to our counties and local communities' sporting infrastructure. Many of our sporting bodies, from national governing bodies to local clubs, have put out reports and press statements on the need for new infrastructure and the upgrading of existing facilities. These funding …

It is important to note that national governing bodies are finding difficulties with the application process. I have been around the country, as has the Minister of State, meeting these organisations. There is a general agreement any time we talk about the grant application processes that they are overly bureaucratic. It is all right for large organisations that have the funds to hire in companies…

132. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the steps he will take to ensure stronger oversight, better value for money and improved transparency in the use of public funds across the arts, culture, and media sectors (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4110/26]

I am a member of the public accounts committee. I am glad the Minister mentioned the report we published in November. The highlights of that were the capital underspend in 2023; the National Gallery's X-ray equipment; the Art Council's failed IT project; departmental oversight and governance failures; decline in the RTÉ licence fee income and emergency funding; performance measurement deficiencies…

That is a heartening response. I will point out that there are 149 recommendations in the report dealing with one entity. We sincerely hope we will not have to have reports on all these bodies with similar recommendations. If we are learning from that going forward, that is warmly welcomed.

I am supporting a local family in Drogheda in dire straits because of a mind-boggling decision made by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, to bring forward an arbitrary deadline of 1 October for parents seeking special class or special school placement for their child in the upcoming academic year. Eight-year-old Alfie has a diagnosis of developmental language disorder and global del…

As well as that, I ask for urgent intervention from the Government with the NCSE to ensure Alfie and his mam get the eligibility letter they need for tomorrow and Alfie gets the education and care he deserves.

Storm Éowyn was the first test for this Government in the new Dáil term. It took almost three weeks for power and connectivity to be restored to all homes, farms, schools, businesses and clubs. The Government failed its first test. Lessons have to be learned. Ministers cannot just sit in meetings or berate Internet providers, because we will have another storm like Storm Éowyn. Power and connecti…

There are clear, proactive actions that can be taken by the Government. The Government can review the tree-cutting capabilities each local authority has so that it can respond adequately when we have another storm event and tackle trees on public land. The Government can ensure landowners are complying with the Roads Act 1993 to remove diseased or damaged roadside trees throughout the State. The D…

I am delighted to speak in support of this Bill on dog welfare. I am a proud mammy of two beautiful fur babies, Benji and Frankie Byrne, and I was half tempted to hold up their pictures here today and ask how anybody could be so cruel or neglectful to little creatures like that. The Long Title of the Bill reads: "An Act to provide for animal welfare considerations in the operation of dog breeding …

I welcome this opportunity to discuss online safety. It is long overdue. It is a topic of interest to all of us in this Chamber, every parent in the country, every teacher, adult, teen and child. I ask that the Government work in a collaborative manner on this issue. It is too important for partisan politics. The opinions and input from all in the Opposition must be given due regard. The Committee…

The Disability Act 2005 states an assessment of need must take place within six months. The Government cannot get its act together on a 20-year-old Act. The response to my most recent parliamentary question on this matter stated that of the 1,200 or more children in Louth waiting for assessments, 250 have been waiting for over 12 months and 350 have waited between six and 12 months. The HSE stated…

We can all agree that search and rescue crews are among the bravest men and women on these shores. They are willing to put their lives on the line day in, day out to go beyond what would be deemed reasonable by the average person to save lives, sometimes in the worst weather imaginable. All they are asking for is to be treated fairly and to have their true working hours reflected in their pay and …

Drogheda is the largest town in the country, with an expectation of becoming Ireland’s next city. The design of Government policy has meant it has become a commuter town, with little to no investment in infrastructure to serve it. Almost 20 years ago, a train station for Drogheda's northside was included in the Drogheda northern environs plan. To this day, it remains an objective of the Louth coun…

Yes.

It has been clear for quite some time that this Government has been mismanaging the entire IPAS process and accommodation. Concerns raised by the Opposition and civil society groups have been dismissed by this Government. It has buried its head in the sand, stating how much it is spending to fix the problem, which only continually gets worse. It is solely responsible for the mess and it will not b…

A local headline in Drogheda today reads, "28 people could have died", following the horrific arson attack on the George's Street IPAS accommodation centre. If it had not been for the swift intervention of An Garda Síochána and Drogheda fire services, families and children, including a three-week-old baby, would not have escaped with their lives. One family had no way out of the top-floor room in …

With so much money in the State coffers, the Government had the perfect opportunity yesterday to set sport on the right path for the future. It was a striker's dream, an open goal with no opponents and the Government just needed to do its job and put the ball away. Instead, it scuffed its shot, kicked the turf and missed the net in an open goal. I fail to see the logic or rationale as to why the G…

1. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport in view of the global gindings report produced from the Double Pass audit into the League of Ireland academy system, which benchmarks Ireland significantly behind other nations, the plans he has initiated to support academy development; if he will commit to the significant funding increase in this area to allow our aca…

I cannot emphasise enough just how important academies are to the future of Irish football. At the very top of the scale, we just need to see where our national team is right now in the international rankings and look at recent defeats to so-called lesser teams. At grassroots level, the opportunities that were there before Brexit no longer exist. Irish players cannot go across the water to larger …

The programme for Government stated that the Government will explore new mechanisms for the creation of football academies with the FAI and the League of Ireland, so I am not going to stand here and give the Minister plaudits for doing what he has committed to doing. The FAI pre-budget submission asks for support for League of Ireland academies, which is what my question this morning is about. Thi…

I must start my contribution to these statements on Gaza by mentioning the peaceful Global Sumud Flotilla, our friend and party colleague, Senator Chris Andrews, and all who are on the vital humanitarian mission. In the early hours of this morning, an armed vessel with no lights on approached the flotilla. Those on board the flotilla ships believe that this is an Israeli military vessel that is tr…

Last week, when I saw that statements on sport were on the agenda for this week I was particularly pleased. When I saw the change to the much longer title, with a much narrower focus, for these statements, the realisation dawned that the Government benches were going to use this as an opportunity to be their own cheerleaders, focus on the positive and ignore the bigger picture and the significant …

Insurance costs in this State defy belief. The reasons given by insurers for costs being so high defy logic and are beyond rational realisation. However, the Government will not tackle them and their obvious profiteering despite mountains of evidence that should demand action from any government, anywhere, that really has the best interests of its citizens at heart. Sinn Féin, from the Opposition…