Questions

538. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when the community sport facilities fund 2026 will open for applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16310/26]

539. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the progress being made to address the extremely poor mobile phone reception across County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16317/26]

540. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 31 of 7 April 2025, to address the poor mobile phone reception in an area in County Kerry (details supplied); if a detailed progress report will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16318/26]

541. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 381 of 12 February 2026, the timeline for the payment of the pension increase for An Post retired workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16329/26]

542. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his Department has reviewed the funding uptake in both rounds of the LSSIF in light of Covid restrictions and subsequent building inflation difficulties for applicants; and to provide a county-by-county breakdown of funds drawn down compared to funds awarded for both rounds, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the…

543. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport in light of a negotiated pay increase of seven percent for An Post pensioners, and with all due diligence completed, the reason the payment has not yet been signed off on at Ministerial level; the timeline for when he intends to conclude this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16453/26]

544. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to list all schemes, funding programmes, capital funds, grant streams or other expenditure headings administered by his Department in 2025 and 2026 which result in allocations, awards, or spending that can be identified with a specific geographical location including county, district, town, or project site, to group these by funding str…

545. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to provide the web link to his Department’s Q4 2025 published report of purchase orders/payments over €20,000, in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements; the date on which this report was published; and if it has not yet been published, the planned publication date. [16564/26]

546. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to confirm, in respect of his Department’s published quarterly reports of procurement-related payments or purchase orders over €20,000 (details supplied), where such reports are published in PDF format but originate from an Excel or similar spreadsheet file, that the underlying data was fully expanded and validated prior to conversion s…

547. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the timeframe for the application portal to open for the sports capital grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16632/26]

548. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when retired An Post Workers (details supplied) will receive their pension increase which was agreed with the CWU and to date has not been paid to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16648/26]

549. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the precise opening date in February 2026 for the next round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund; whether the scheme guidelines have been finalised; and if he will publish the final guidelines in advance of the scheme opening. [16716/26]

550. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport what objective criteria will be used in the February 2026 round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund to identify “under-invested” areas and sports; whether a county-by-county capital allocation analysis from previous rounds informed this targeting; and if he will publish that assessment. [16717/26]

551. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the maximum grant thresholds that will apply in the February 2026 round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund for local, regional and equipment-only applications; whether match funding requirements will differ from the 2023 round; and whether any reduced match requirement will apply to smaller or rural clubs. [16718/26]

552. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to provide a county-by-county breakdown of approvals under the 2023 round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund, including total funding approved, number of successful applications, total applications received, and the average grant awarded per county, in tabular form. [16719/26]

553. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the statutory or regulatory basis under which pension increases under the Eircom Superannuation Defined Benefit Scheme require approval from his Department; whether such approval is mandated by primary legislation, secondary legislation, shareholder governance arrangements, or administrative protocol; the date on which the most recent 2.…

554. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to confirm that retired An Post workers are due a pension increase, as this has been agreed but has not yet been delivered; when the increase will be given, if it will be backdated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16823/26]

555. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the steps being taken to ensure that capital investment in sports facilities is reaching grassroots and community clubs in a timely manner; the measurable targets in place to address reported funding shortfalls and facility backlogs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16887/26]

556. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the way his Department balances funding allocations between elite sport and grassroots participation programmes; and the proportion of overall sports funding allocated to each in the most recent financial year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16888/26]

557. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the oversight and compliance mechanisms that are in place to ensure that sporting bodies in receipt of public funding adhere to governance, transparency and safeguarding standards; and if he will provide details of any sanctions applied in cases of non-compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16889/26]

558. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the specific measures being taken to ensure that funding for arts and cultural organisations, particularly in rural and regional areas, is distributed equitably; and if he will provide details of any delays or funding shortfalls reported in the current financial year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16890/26]

559. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the oversight mechanisms that exist to ensure that public funding for major cultural and heritage projects is spent efficiently and transparently; and if he will provide details of any projects where governance or accountability issues have been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16891/26]

560. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when his Department intends to publish a detailed breakdown of the additional €600,000 allocated to an organisation (details supplied), specifying the programme areas to which the funding will apply and the outputs expected in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16904/26]

561. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his Department intends to undertake an assessment of the need to expand a network (details supplied) to strengthen the promotion of Irish culture nationwide; whether Kildare North will be considered as a potential location in any such assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16905/26]

562. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the options available to residents in an estate (details supplied) regarding broadband services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16992/26]