Parliamentary questions

945. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if consideration will be given to removing the three out of six year eligibility rule under the new basic income for the arts scheme as this may inhibit artists from engaging with the scheme and their artistic work long term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19523/26]

946. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the current timeline for agreed pension increases for EIR and An Post retirees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19580/26]

947. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to consider implementing a policy to ensure that all sports clubs are required to have clear comprehensive adult safeguarding policies in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19587/26]

948. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport his views on funding for local democracy reporters for the years 2025 and 2026; the criteria for papers to receive funding for local democracy reporters; if decisions to reduce allocations can be appealed and how; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19590/26]

949. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will provide an update on the Government's engagement with other EU Member States regarding proposals to introduce an EU wide digital age of majority for access to social media platforms, particularly in respect of users under 16 years of age; the timeline being considered for advancing such proposals at EU l…

950. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the steps being taken under the Government's Digital and AI Strategy to develop and pilot age verification systems for social media use by persons under 16 years-of-age; the expected timeline for the pilot programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19675/26]

951. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the strategies in place to grow diving at a grassroots level in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19745/26]

952. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the funding provided by Sport Ireland to the various water sports governed by Swim Ireland, by sport, in each of the years from 2020 to-date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19746/26]

953. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the funding provided to support diving at a grassroots level in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19747/26]

954. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the public body which is responsible for ensuring the availability of broadband to a location (details supplied) which have been without fibre broadband since a line was damaged eight years ago but which appear to be shown as connected to fibre broadband on a national infrastructure database. [19796/26]

955. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will provide an explanation for the failure of National Broadband Ireland (NBI) and its contracted partners to deliver a confirmed broadband installation to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo on 20 February 2026, despite the person having received written confirmation from the chosen service provider th…

956. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will address the continued service failures of NBI, including conflicting information given to customers by NBI, its installation partner (details supplied) and broadband service providers; and if he will confirm whether his Department plans to examine systemic issues in NBI's customer facing processes during t…

957. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will provide a justification for the reason County Mayo has been among the last counties to receive National Broadband Ireland services, leaving some communities dependent on 3G mobile broadband for over eight years; and the measures his Department will take to prevent continued delays or miscommunications duri…

958. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the obligations placed on commercial broadband service providers who operate on the NBI network to ensure reliable communication, accurate installation scheduling, and minimum service standards; and the enforcement mechanisms which exist when providers repeatedly issue incorrect or misleading customer information. [1…

959. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the current salary rate being paid to the chairperson and four commissioners of Coimisiún na Meán; the combined cost of these salaries since the commission was established, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20120/26]

960. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will commission an independent review of the compatibility of Coimisiún na Meán's regulatory framework with Article 40.6.1° of the Constitution and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding freedom of expression; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20145/26]

961. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he has examined Coimisiún na Meán's call for submissions on media literacy to counter disinformation, announced 10 March 2026; whether he is concerned that such initiatives risk positioning the regulator as an arbiter of truth and thereby controlling public discourse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. …

962. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will direct Coimisiún na Meán to publish a full impact assessment on how its media services codes, fairness and impartiality rules, and media-pluralism policy are affecting viewpoint diversity and the viability of independent and smaller media outlets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20151/26]

963. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his Department will provide a timeline for a decision on the pension increase of 2.1% for Eir (formerly Eircom and Telecom Éireann) pensioners given by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and sent to his Department on 23 February 2026; and if he will make a …

964. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he agrees with the findings of a recent report (details supplied) that take up of fibre to the home broadband continues to be below average amongst older people and amongst small businesses; if so, the policy measures his Department are pursuing to encourage the commencement of the process of copper switch-of…

965. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the measures being undertaken by his Department to promote the take up of fibre to the home fibre broadband amongst Irish SMEs, considering data which suggests adoption remains low; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20269/26]

966. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his Department supports the prioritisation of the switching off of copper broadband technology; to set out the measures his Department have taken or supported to achieve this objective; if his Department has a national target date for when all copper broadband will be switched off within the State; if not, th…

967. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if the relevant building and telecommunications regulations are now legally aligned with the terms of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act; the guidance available to developers to support their compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20272/26]

968. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport whether a county-level investment analysis from previous Community Sport Facilities Fund rounds has been completed to identify areas that have been historically under-invested; and if he will publish that analysis. [20405/26]

969. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the projected overall budget envelope for the 2026 round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund and whether this will exceed the €277.9 million allocated under the 2023 round. [20406/26]