Dara Calleary

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Tá leithdháileadh iomlán de €611 milliún faighte ag an Roinn ar fad i gcáinaisnéis 2026. Leis seo, cuirfear €192 milliún ar fáil don chlár fhorbartha tuaithe; €260 milliún don chlár forbartha pobail; agus €159 milliún do réimse clár na Gaeltachta, na Gaeilge agus na n-oileán. Fuair mé méadú an-suntasach sa mhaoiniú do chlár na Gaeltachta, na Gaeilge a…

Tá sé deacair ag an bpointe seo sonraí don breakdown sin a thabhairt don Teachta. Beimid in ann sonraí faoi Ché Inis Oírr a thabhairt dó ach táimid fós ag obair leis an OPW ar Shráid Fhearchair. Tá an OPW in éineacht linn. Táimid ag lorg tender le haghaidh cúrsaí in Indreabhán. Beidh na sonraí agam tar éis an phróisis sin. Tá dúshlán mór ann d’aon tógálaí faoi láthair mar gheall ar chostais. Bhí s…

Tá méadú difriúil le haghaidh Údarás na Gaeltachta. Tá €2.5 milliún i gceist, lena n-áirítear méadú €1 milliún ar leithdháileadh caipitil le haghaidh an údaráis leis féin. Tá obair eile le déanamh le airgead caipitil sa Ghaeltacht freisin. Tá tograí nach bhfuil chomh mór leis na tograí atá sa phlean forbartha náisiúnta. Tá an ghnáthobair a dhéanaimid gach bliain maidir le cúrsaí Gaeltachta agus na…

I agree with the Deputy about the importance of housing. My Department works closely with colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage across a range of areas. Officials in both Departments are in regular contact about a number of areas that cut into housing, including town centre first, local economic and community planning, planning for and the provision of housing for …

I would encourage the Deputy to put his cynicism to one side and look at budget 2026. It contains a record allocation of over €9 billion for housing capital investment. This has been a major issue that has come back to us in the consultation on Our Rural Future. The vacant property refurbishment grant provided by the Department of housing is really important in rural areas. A sum of €165 million h…

Táim ag iarraidh obair leis an Teachta. Tá an t-airgead ann. Tá na figiúirí ann ón CSO a léiríonn go bhfuil ardú mór sna ceadúnais tithíochta, tithe aonair go háirithe. Táimid ag obair leis na húdaráis áitiúla. Bhí cruinniú agam freisin le príomhfheidhmeannaigh na n-údarás áitiúil a bhfuil Gaeltacht ann chun plé leis an dream sin faoi na rudaí is tábhachtaí. Leag siad béim ar an tábhacht a bhainea…

The Minister of State and I were delighted to have secured funding of €5 million in budget 2026 for the introduction of a new programme for urban areas in line with the programme for Government commitment. RAPID stands for revitalising areas by planning, investment and development. Established in 2001, it was an area-based approach to disadvantage representing a focused initiative to target the 25…

I agree regarding the impact it has had. There were 25 designated disadvantaged urban areas, which included areas in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda and Dundalk. More provincial towns were added. At the end of the programme, the number of designated RAPID areas was 51. We may not be able to reach this figure but we want to get started in 2026. The Minister of State and I have been stru…

I agree. The Minister of State and I are very focused on making sure this is effective and community led. The Minister of State works on a daily basis with the teams in SICAP and community development organisations and we want to make sure they have an input into this. We want to keep what was good about the previous RAPID programme and keep the direction, focus and delivery. It may have been dilu…

The CLÁR programme is an important funding stream for many of our most rural areas. In recent years, it has funded a vast array of community amenities, including community centres, sporting facilities, playgrounds, sensory gardens and walking trails. It has also provided funding for vehicles used to transport people with disabilities to access vital cancer services among others. Since 2020, over €…

I agree with the Deputy. We have made changes to CLÁR since I took office. I increased the maximum payable grant for a successful measure one project from €50,000 to €65,000. For two measure 1 applications, local authorities can apply for an increased level of funding of €100,000. I have provided for an extra application by local authorities that have Gaeltacht areas in their counties, so those ar…

CLÁR has been an exemplary programme. It is focused, and we want to keep that focus. We have a programme for Government commitment to look at the expansion of CLÁR areas, and we are finalising that at the moment. Maynooth University has prepared a report for us, which we are looking at. I join with the Deputy in welcoming this morning's announcement for Cavan, as will the Minister of State, Deput…

The community recognition fund was introduced to recognise the contribution being made by communities all over the country in welcoming new arrivals into our cities, towns and villages. It was originally introduced as a €50 million fund in 2023 to develop community infrastructure in areas that were hosting beneficiaries of temporary protection and-or international protection applicants. This fund …

The budget for the CRF for 2026 is €10 million. We want the local authorities to draw down and complete projects, and that is going to be the focus for 2026. We also have other projects, such as community centre investment. As we have just discussed with Deputy Brendan Smith, there is also the CLÁR programme. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, worked hard to secure funding for SICAP, particul…

I can assure the Deputy that there is a range of supports within the Department to fund community infrastructure, in particular, physical infrastructure, such as centres and hubs. Through SICAP, under the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, community supports are also available. We will continue to make those available as they are very important. Regarding the project referenced by the Deputy, th…

Aontaím go bhfuil fuinneamh iontach i gcúrsaí Gaeltachta agus Gaeilge ag an bpointe seo. Tá sé sin iontach le feiceáil. Táimid díreach tar éis an méadú is mó le blianta a thabhairt don bhuiséad don Ghaeltacht agus do chúrsaí Gaeilge le haghaidh an chéad bhliain eile, 2026. Bhí comhrá agus plé agam leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh maidir le sonraí an mhéadaithe sin ag tús an tseisiúin cheisteanna seo. Tá…

Tá athrú ag tarlú ar na figiúirí sin. Sa bhuiséad do 2026, tá ardú 22% ar mhaoiniú do chúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta. Is féidir é sin a chur i gcomparáid le hardú 7% nó 8% ar chaiteachas Stáit go ginearálta. Is ceann de na harduithe is mó le haghaidh aon rud sa Rialtas in 2026 é sin. Tá an Roinn oideachais díreach chun plean nua le haghaidh oideachais taobh istigh agus taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht…

Cuirim fáilte roimh na daltaí sin. Tá súil agam go mbeidh lá iontach acu. I hope they have a great day and enjoy it. Sular tháinig an Teachta Tóibín isteach, bhí plé agam leis an Teachta Conor McGuinness maidir le cúrsaí pleanála agus tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht. Táimid ag déileáil leis sin in éineacht leis an Roinn tithíochta. Maidir le cúrsaí oideachais, táimid ag tabhairt airgid do Ghael Linn i le…

I thank the Deputy for his question and his ongoing interest in this area. We launched the town centre first policy in 2022. It a major cross-Government policy to tackle vacancy and combat dereliction, and in doing so to breathe new life into town centres. Town centre first complements other policies, including Our Rural Future and Housing for All as well as the national planning framework, which …

As the Deputy knows, last week we announced €20 million in rural regeneration and development funding for 30 projects across Ireland, including in his home town. I thank Deputy McCarthy for his work in lobbying for that. Fermoy will see the €772,000 development of a derelict site. This is something that the Deputy and the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, worked closely with me on. That is the k…

My Department has funded 26 town centre first plans which are focused on existing facilities and buildings within town centres. They are concerned with what we call the public realm and aim to enhance the town centre experience. I make the point regularly, and did so again when I spoke at a national conference in Leitrim on Monday, that we have to come up with new reasons for people to visit towns…

As the Deputy knows, my Department is responsible for the existing LEADER programme which is part of Ireland’s CAP strategic plan covering 2023 to 2027. It is co-funded by the EU and the Exchequer. The LEADER programme is administered by local action groups on behalf of my Department and has been at the heart of rural development in Ireland for over 30 years. It plays a vital role in supporting lo…

Under the current LEADER programme, Galway has an allocation of €9 million. Approximately €5.5 million of that is allocated to Galway East for both projects and administration costs. A number of factors are considered when deciding on the funding allocations. These include providing a minimum allocation of €3 million to each sub-regional area. The remaining funding is distributed based on populati…

The former Minister, Healther Humphreys, did not slash any budget. Within the 2023 to 2027 programme, 38 projects have been funded across all the LAGs in Galway, the vast majority of which - 24 - are actually in Galway East. I have spoken about the work that is under way with the Minister, Deputy Heydon, as Minister for agriculture, but also with the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, and I h…

I thank the Deputy for his question. As part of the ongoing process of co-ordinated scheme delivery across my Department, schemes such as the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, involve a well-established process of issuing calls for applications, project evaluation and project selection. In general, my Department's schemes are administered on a competitive basis, which underpins the d…