Dara Calleary

I could not agree with the Deputy more on outdoor recreation. The focus of the ORIS scheme is to support outdoor recreation infrastructure. It funds projects such as walkways, cycleways, blueways, water and cycle trails, mountain-access routes and open water amenities of bogs, rivers, lakes and beaches, including tidal pools. Projects are generally located in the countryside under the scheme. Howe…

We funded 59 projects in Galway since 2020 under ORIS with an investment of €4.944 million. There are some really good ones, including the Creggs mountain walk and the Glinsk Heritage Park, which are two really good examples. In relation to the LIS, since 2020 we have funded 195 roads in Galway, an investment of €10.04 million. That is money well spent. As regards ORIS, one of the few good thing…

Le bheith soiléir, tá mé chun an cheist a fhreagairt as Béarla-----

-----ionas nach mbeidh botún san eolas. My Department provides a subsidy under scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge which is payable to qualifying Gaeltacht households providing accommodation for those attending an Irish course in any of the 40 or so Irish-language colleges that operate under the scheme. The scheme was established over 50 years ago in order to foster language acquisition and enrichme…

Absolutely. I want students to learn Irish and to enjoy the experience of attending a summer college. Tá scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge bunaithe ar dhaltaí ag dul go dtí an Ghaeltacht chun taithí foghlama agus taithí chónaithe sa Ghaeltacht a fháil. Tá sé tábhachtach go bhfuil an Roinn oideachais páirteach sa phróiseas seo. The Department of education plays a very strong role in this. Generally,…

Iarraim ar an Teachta na sonraí a chur chugam. Tá sé tábhachtach go mbaineann gach aon rud laistigh den scoilbhliain leis an Roinn oideachais. Nuair atá sé taobh amuigh den scoilbhliain, tá seans againn é a phlé. When it is inside the existing school year, the Department of education, I think we all agree, must have approval over that. We will work with everyone. If the Deputy wants to send me on …

-----that anything within the school year is a matter for the Department of education initially, and if it approves, then we will examine it. Tá scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge thar a bheith tábhachtach. Tá méadú mór déanta agam agus scéim nua agam an tseachtain seo le cinntiú go mbeidh daoine a bhí sa scéim roimh 2019 in ann leapacha agus mattresses nua a fháil ionas go mbeidh siad ullmhaithe do…

As the Deputy knows, the LEADER programme is a multi-annual funding programme. It is cofinanced by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. The current LEADER programme is operational across the country as we speak, with total funding of €180 million allocated across local action groups to cover the period 2023 to 2027. When considering LEADER allocations for the post-20…

Absolutely. Since 1991, LEADER companies around the country have made a huge difference. LEADER projects have made a massive difference. It was the former Tánaiste and former Commissioner, Ray McSharry, and the former Minister of State and MEP Mark Killilea. Ireland's fingerprints are very much associated with LEADER and the success of LEADER to date. I will be working to ensure our LEADER funding…

I thank the Deputy. The emergence of men’s sheds and women's sheds has been an enormously positive development for communities across Ireland. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are fully committed to supporting men's and women's sheds in the valuable work they do. My Department provides funding to men's and women’s sheds under various supports, including the local enhancement programm…

Through the scheme to support national organisations, we do support the IMSA in its infrastructure and scaffolding so that it can distribute the funding. I have commitments and responsibilities in terms of the expenditure of money. I have to be sure the money is spent properly and appropriately and so, when we engage in multi-annual funding with any organisation, it is important for us to ensure i…

Certainty is in what we have given to date. Funding has been provided over a number of years. There is certainty through the scheme to support national organisations and that gives the backup for the infrastructure. We work very closely with the IMSA. It has just finished a consultation process with local men's sheds as to what it will be looking for grant-wise. We want that process to be complete…

Gabhaim buíochas le Sinn Féin as ucht an seans cúrsaí míchumais a phlé anocht. I am not opposing the motion put forward by Sinn Féin this evening, but we will take the opportunity to discuss these important issues and lay out much of the work we are doing. We recognise, and it is not exclusive to the Opposition, the additional cost that disabled people face in their daily lives. We are committed t…

It is obvious that the budget is getting the interest of all the parties of the House. I am proud to be able to serve in Cabinet and to present my first budget as Minister for Social Protection and for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. I will deal with each Department separately within my speaking allocation. In the Department of Social Protection, we have secured almost €29 bil…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Quaide as na Social Democrats as an rún seo inniu. Ní bheimid ag cur i gcoinne an rúin. We will not be opposing the motion put forward by Deputy Quaide and the Social Democrats. I welcome the opportunity the motion gives us to discuss the very important issue of carer's supports that are provided by my Department. The motion is timely and I welcome in particular th…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a ceist. Reducing child poverty is a key priority for the Government. I agree with the Deputy that it is important to use data that is complete, accurate and can be tracked over time. The data on poverty used by my Department is the official data the Central Statistics Office, CSO, publishes in its annual survey on income and living conditions, SILC. The headlin…

I absolutely agree with the Deputy that we need accurate figures. We have long used the consistent poverty measure as the national poverty benchmark. The recently agreed child poverty target of 3% or less is based on the consistent poverty measure, which is the critical measure of child poverty because it captures income-related and deprivation-related aspects. In addition, we use CSO data on the…

No, it is the new roadmap for inclusion.

I will revert to the Deputy on the dashboard. There is huge work under way to make it as inclusive and measurable as possible. The unit is open to suggestions on what should be part of the dashboard. It is crucial it be used as a cross-governmental measure. We are looking at the whole area of housing costs. Depending on tenure and on whether a person owns or is renting, it can have a different imp…

I thank the Deputy. Oral hearings on social welfare appeals can be held virtually, in person or by phone. In 2024, there were 432 oral hearings, comprising 120 in person, 53 by phone and 259 virtually. The figure has fallen considerably in recent years but that has to be set against the backdrop of a number of things. When a case is assigned to an appeals officer, the officer examines the document…

I can absolutely assure the Deputy that oral appeals will continue. The regulations are now there for people to request them. However, things have changed and the functionality available on MyWelfare.ie gives much more information earlier in the process, which leads to a situation where the oral hearing is not as important as it may once have been. I assure the Deputy oral appeals will continue to…

I do not disagree. We have all done oral hearings and they are very important. As the Deputy said, it is about seeing the white of a person's eye and having that interaction. There is a mix of the traditional oral hearing and the other options available to get a decision quicker and get through the process quicker. I assure the Deputy I do not intend to discourage the use of oral hearings. They ar…

I thank the Deputy. As she knows, the hot school meals programme was established to ensure that children across Ireland have access to safe, nutritious meals during the school day. It is a core Government commitment to support children’s health, well-being, and educational outcomes. The programme is being made available to all primary schools before the end of this year. This will allow 3,200 scho…

We are agreed that access to a hot school meal is vital, and that is what we are trying to secure. My Department officials have worked incredibly hard since we were informed by the school communities that the companies were withdrawing. We have set up a new process. My officials are regularly in touch with the school communities involved. Many of them have secured a replacement supplier, because t…

I do not want to give the Deputy inaccurate information. I will provide her with the timeline. I can assure her that there was no delay. We were not informed by the supplier; we were informed by school communities. As soon as we became aware of it, we put the processes in place. The members of the team in the Department of Social Protection are continuing to work incredibly hard, for example by ma…