Dara Calleary

Aontaím go mór leis an Teachta. Tá sé tábhachtach. Nuair a thosaíonn an turas Gaeilge ag aois óg cosúil leis sin, bíonn turas iontach ag an bpáiste on réamhscoil go dtí an bhunscoil, an mheánscoil agus an coláiste. Is iontach an rud é sin. Mar a dúirt mé, tá an t-airgead agus na scéimeanna ann. B'fhéidir go mbeidh plé againn maidir leis an dá scoil sin. Beimid in ann tacaíocht a thabhairt dóibh, g…

Beidh mé lánsásta na tograí tábhachtacha sin sna naíonraí a phlé faoi na scéimeanna tacaíochta Gaeilge. Má chuireann an Teachta ríomhphost chugam, beimid in ann é sin a dhéanamh. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach go bhfuil an infheistíocht seo ag dul go dtí na naíonraí. Tá infheistíocht bhreise le dul isteach i mbliana go dtí na naíonraí agus go dtí an obair atá á dhéanamh ag tuismitheoirí na Gaeilg…

I thank the Deputy for his question. I am aware of the recent report of the GAA national demographics committee, and the presentation it made. The Deputy drew my attention to it some weeks back. The Minister of State and I engaged directly with the GAA on this issue. We met the national demographics committee last September in relation to its work and the report. We acknowledge the challenges for…

All of us will agree that without volunteers we would not have any society, particularly the GAA, but any organisation. I always take the opportunity to ask those who give out about volunteers what they would do on a Saturday if they had no GAA, no drama, no rugby, soccer, swimming or anything to go to and if their kids did not have those outlets. They are run by volunteers. The Minister of State …

I assure the Deputy that the Department, including the Minister of State and I, and our officials, are currently engaging with our colleagues across government on what their responsibilities are in relation to the next stage of Our Rural Future. Rural affairs are not just for the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. It is an all-of-government approach, which is very muc…

Since its launch in 2021, Our Rural Future has delivered vital investment and supports to rural areas that have strengthened local economies and improved the quality of life for people across rural Ireland. Measures already completed support many of the high-level issues the Deputy referred to, not just today but in his submission, including high-speed broadband, support for rural enterprise, incr…

The process of developing a new Our Rural Future is going on in tandem with the other process, which is the OECD review of rural development policy in Ireland. We will publish that review shortly. I am intent on having the new Our Rural Future published ahead of the summer. Housing has been one of the major inputs in terms of submissions. As I said in reply to Deputy Smith, we are engaging with a…

I absolutely assure the Deputy this will be led from the highest level. There is a commitment in the programme for Government that this be a whole-of-government approach. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, have directed all our ministerial colleagues to engage in this. If studs have to go on, they will go on but I do not think they will have to because there is genui…

Aontaím go mór leis an Teachta agus gabhaim buíochas leis as ucht na ceiste faoin tábhacht a bhaineann le tithíocht sa Ghaeltacht. Níor mhiste a nótáil go mbaineann saincheisteanna tithíochta leis an Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta. É sin ráite, is é príomhchuspóir Údarás na Gaeltachta ná a chinntiú go mairfidh an Ghaeilge mar phríomhtheanga an phobail i gceantair Ghaeltachta a…

Bhí cruinniú iontach agam le príomhfheidhmeannach an údaráis agus phléigh muid na sites go léir atá aige. B’fhéidir go mbeidh muid in ann iad a réiteach le haghaidh tithíochta agus gach duine a fháil ar na tograí sin sa Ghaeltacht. Pléifidh muid é sin. Is maith an tuairim í go mbeidh duine ó na húdaráis áitiúla i láthair freisin. Tá mé ag obair leis an Aire tithíochta, an Teachta Browne, chun go …

Tá an t-uafás oibre le déanamh air seo. Tá sé in am tógáil, ach tá muid ag déanamh na hoibre. Ba bhreá liom go ndéanfaí athrú níos tapúla, ach tá muid ag déanamh na hoibre agus tá muid ag tabhairt na gcéimeanna go gcaithfidh muid a thabhairt ag an bpointe seo. Tá mé fós ag coinneáil brú agus ag déanamh na hoibre. Beidh mé i gcruinniú le príomhfheidhmeannach an údaráis amárach agus oibreoidh mé lei…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an eolais faoi gach uile féile i gContae na Mí. I do not think he forgot any of them. The positive impact of festivals is very much recognised by my Department, both in building local pride and boosting local economies. While we do not have a scheme specifically for community festivals, there may be avenues to support available under LEADER or the local enh…

I agree with the Deputy about the importance of festivals. I put on the record my thanks and that of the Minister of State to the volunteers who put them together. I am always struck that the volunteers who pull this festival together are the ones who make the least out of it. They are not involved in any of the hospitality businesses that do well. They do it together because there is massive comm…

I agree. Insurance costs in this country continue to be a massive challenge, particularly for festivals, but also for businesses, including small businesses. I was a Minister of State in the previous Government in the Department of enterprise, which led on this work. It is a matter of enormous frustration and anger to me that all of the work that we have done has not resulted in insurance deductio…

My Department manages its funding allocations across three programme areas: rural development, community development, agus an Gaeltacht agus na n-oileáin. For 2026, my Department's overall budget allocation is €613 million, with around €273 million in capital funding and €340 million in current funding. This represents a 7% increase on the 2025 allocation and builds on strong investment in the pas…

I am going to disagree with the Deputy. We have been agreeing all morning. I see a great and growing sense of confidence as I travel across rural Ireland. I am visiting projects across rural Ireland that are volunteer-led and community-led. They are funded by my Department in partnership with local action groups, LEADER companies and local authorities. They are projects that reflect ambition and a…

I reiterate that we are backing that confidence. We are backing the confidence in rural communities and the confidence that is led by volunteers and are working with organisations, local authorities, development agencies and local development companies in terms of doing that. I can assure the Deputy the LEADER programme is fully funded and will deliver. We do have a challenge and I think I have be…

I thank the Deputy for the question. Rural proofing refers to the processes adopted by policymakers to ensure that new programmes and initiatives understand, and take account of, the specific needs and capacities of rural communities. Our Rural Future, the national rural development policy, commits to strengthening our approach to rural proofing across all Government policies. In addressing this …

Rural proofing is delivering a record budget for the Department of Rural and Community Development agus an Gaeltacht - an investment that is going to make a difference in rural communities right across the country. Rural proofing is ensuring that Government is delivering on policies in many areas. I was in Achill last Tuesday and saw TFI Anseo, a pilot rural transport scheme that brings rural tran…

I will happily compare everything we are doing here to what is happening under other governments and under First Minister O'Neill. The Deputy referred to my predecessor. My predecessor delivered €440 million to over 160 projects through RRDF since 2020, over €235 million through the town and village renewal scheme and over €110 million through the rural social scheme. This money is changing and tr…

We had a very good discussion earlier and I agree with the Deputy about the importance of the community centre investment fund, CCIF, which was introduced to provide high-quality, accessible community spaces available to all groups in communities. Some €110 million has been allocated since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of 12 new centr…

There are supports available but the Deputy has given me an idea to think about in terms of centralising some of the supports there. In regard to the new-builds in particular, I am anxious to ensure the ones that were announced are up and running. We will take the lessons of those and put them into somewhere for communities to assist in bringing new builds on. The new builds programme is a priorit…

I cannot give commitments on the floor of the House to specific groups without seeing the detail. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, is engaging and working hard with the Mayfield community in particular. We have substantially transformed the funding opportunities available for libraries in recent years. That funding is available through local authorities and working in partnership wit…

Tairgim leasú Uimh. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "recognises that: — the Government acknowledges that disabled people face additional costs in their daily lives; — the Government's determination to address this issue is reflected in the Programme for Government commitment, to introduce a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment; — delive…

I did not say that. I said we would provide the information on the supports that are available.