Parliamentary questions

55. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht whether he will take a role in the failure to deliver community centres and other community services in new housing estates. [52756/26]

56. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his views on the recently announced draft National Planning Statement to Transform Approach to Rural Housing-Delivering Greater Clarity and Consistency. [53135/26]

944. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if a €3,000 annual grant will be available to fund the 500 active men's sheds; if this grant will be included in Budget 2027 and each budget thereafter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53662/26]

945. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide an annual grant to (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53663/26]

946. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his plans to address the salaries of community workers and volunteers; if he is aware they do not currently earn a living wage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53637/26]

947. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the mechanisms his Department is utilising to develop robust rural intelligence that will be made available to other Departments to help tailor national policies to rural realities. [52687/26]

948. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if there is a specific policy within his Department that seeks to preclude those elected to local authorities from any boards that he may appoint; the rationale behind any such policy; the way in which it aligns with encouraging participation in local government; and if he will make a statement on th…

949. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to commit to preparing legislation to not automatically exclude members of local authorities from consideration for appointment to State boards; and to set out the reasons such persons would be excluded. [52879/26]

950. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are being applied, formally or informally, to community centres seeking capital or operational funding under schemes administered by her Department; if centres (details supplied) in County Offaly are expected to demonstrate ESG-aligned compliance i…

951. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Seán Kyne den Aire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta an ndéanfaidh sé athbhreithniú ar chás lánúine (sonraí curtha ar fáil) faoi Scéim Oileánda (Árainn) na Gaeltachta, an nglacfadh sé leis go raibh dúshláin ar leith ann ós rud é go raibh na daltaí san idirbhliain, an tionchar a bhí aige sin ar líon na laethanta freastail a d’fhág go bhfuair na soláthraithe lói…

952. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Seán Kyne den Aire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta an dtabharfaidh se breac-chuntas ar Scéim Oileánda (Árainn) na Gaeltachta, ar thábhacht na scéime do phobail na n-oileán, ar na buntáistí do mhic léinn, do scoileanna in Árainn agus do gheilleagar na n-oileán, an nglacann sé leis go mbíonn costais mhóra ann do theaghlaigh óstacha i dtaca leis an gcaitheamh …

953. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Seán Kyne den Aire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta an ndéanfaidh sé na critéir a leagan amach do sholáthraithe lóistín ar Oileáin Árann faoi Scéim Oileánda (Árainn) na Gaeltachta, cén ráta a bheadh ann in aghaidh na bliana acadúla, an féidir leis a dheimhniú nach n-íoctar an ráta ach i leith na laethanta a bhíonn dalta i láthair, an n-aontaíonn sé gur rud éa…

954. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he has proposals to extend eligibility for safety pendants under the seniors alert scheme to vulnerable persons under 66 years-of-age that live alone in geographically isolated areas and who have a serious illness; the reason such supports are currently unavailable to people under 66 years-of-age;…

955. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the existing legal requirements, if any, for religious and charitable organisations to disclose the source of foreign funding; and whether his Department has considered introducing a foreign funding disclosure regime similar to those in place in other EU states. [53240/26]

956. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht whether any risk assessment has been conducted into foreign funding of religious or community organisations operating in the State; and if not, whether such an assessment is planned. [53241/26]

957. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 349 of 1 July 2026, whether he consider SICAP to constitute a significant source of start-up funding for social enterprises given that, for every €1,000 allocated through SICAP, approximately €2.15 is awarded to social enterprises, only around 1.5% of social enter…

958. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh den Aire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta an bhfuil sé i gceist aige teach (sonraí curtha ar fáil) a cheannach agus ionad do scríbhneoirí na Gaeilge a dhéanamh de, agus an bhfuil na féidearthachtaí maidir leis an teach a cheannach pléite aige le Comhairle Contae na Gaillimhe; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [53304/26]

959. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide details of all grant schemes currently available through his Department for which individuals or community groups are eligible to apply; the purpose of each grant scheme; the eligibility criteria; the application process; the opening and closing dates for application; and if he will make a sta…

960. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to advise on the way in which funding of €5 million for the new SÍOL Programme for 2026 will be rolled out; when projects are required to be submitted from councils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53608/26]

961. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if his Department will consider granting additional funding to the 484 Men’s Sheds in the coming year to support the vital work that they are doing in their communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53621/26]

259. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide the amounts by which his Department or agencies within the aegis of his Department that has been defrauded as a result of a cyberattack; and the total amount which has been recovered for each of the years 2021 to 2025, and to date in 2026. [51990/26]

904. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the main policy achievements of his Department since 22 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50808/26]

905. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the funding available and the supports provided by his Department to ensure that rural villages and communities retain their social hubs such as shops and pubs; if any supports are available for rural villages and communities who have lost their shop and pubs to have those social hubs restored; and i…

906. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht whether footpath construction and footpath improvement works are eligible for funding under the CLÁR programme; if he will provide details of changes made to eligibility criteria in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51165/26]

907. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht whether consideration has been given to reintroducing support for footpath infrastructure under the CLÁR programme, particularly in rural villages and settlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51166/26]