Parliamentary questions

956. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for an update on his Department’s priorities for Ireland’s EU Council Presidency. [49586/26]

957. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he accepts that maintaining viable pubs in rural communities contributes to Government objectives relating to rural regeneration, community development and social inclusion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49635/26]

958. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the engagement his Department has had with representative bodies regarding measures to support the sustainability of community pubs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49637/26]

959. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide figures for the cost overruns by his Department, relative to the budgeted amount in budget 2026; the cost overruns by his Department, relative to the budgeted amount in budget 2026 for each State agency under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49…

960. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if his Department has examined the relationship between pub closures and rural decline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49684/26]

961. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht when a CLÁR grant will be approved for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49725/26]

559. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the steps taken to review the eligibility criteria for the town and village renewal scheme, in line with the Programme for Government commitment to allow towns with populations over 10,000 to apply; whether revised criteria will be in place for the next call for applications; the expected timeline…

342. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the total value of eligible applications received under each call of the Rural Regeneration and Development Funds; the total value approved; the approval rate by number and value of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47894/26]

343. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his views on the proposal by an organisation (details supplied), under which the Government will support social enterprises to maximise trading income where possible while providing sustained State co-funding and cost relief in areas of market failure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. […

344. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht any funding options are available for capital projects by Men's and Women's Sheds. [47986/26]

345. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will introduce a proportionate financial reporting option under Circular 13/2014, allowing Community Services Programme-funded social enterprises with an annual income below €250,000 to submit non-audited financial statements in place of audited accounts, consistent with the audit exemption thr…

346. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he accepts that the majority of social enterprises in Ireland operate in areas of persistent market failure, delivering services that are needed but cannot be made commercially self-sustaining, rather than functioning as conventional, profit-maximising market actors; and if he will make a statement o…

926. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will have regard to the local development companies network in Ireland's pre-budget submission in his preparations for budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47329/26]

927. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the estimated cost of increasing total funding for Údarás na Gaeltachta by 5%, by 10%, by 15%, by 20%, and by the cost of inflation since budget 2026, and of increasing the specific funding for community and language under subhead C7 and the specific funding for capital by 25%, 33% and 50%. [4688…

928. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the estimated cost of increasing the board membership of the proposed reformed Údarás na Gaeltachta under the Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2025 to a total of 26 remunerated members. [46887/26]

929. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his plans to support the pub sector as pillars of rural communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46977/26]

930. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his plans to help establish Irish language settlements and communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47183/26]

931. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the capital funding streams available to communities seeking to promote Irish language as a community language, both at European and domestic levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47253/26]

932. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht when a decision will made on successful applications made under the scheme to support national organisations from 2026 to 2029; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47388/26]

933. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the criteria for public funding allocation to non-governmental organisations, particularly those involved in political lobbying or activism; the measures in place to ensure that taxpayers' money is not being used to support partisan political agendas; his views on correspondence (details supplied); …

934. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the total land holding by his Department, broken down by county, including the amount currently unused or vacant, the portion zoned for development, and the number of sites that include vacant or derelict properties. [47631/26]

935. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for an update on the implementation of the national outdoor recreation strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47641/26]

936. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for an update on his plans to ensure that vital cultural institutions (details supplied) are supported in budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47749/26]

937. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht whether his Department has assessed the audit and compliance costs incurred by small social enterprises in receipt of public funding; whether he is aware of reports that some organisations are paying in excess of €7,000 annually in audit fees; and the measures under consideration to ensure governa…

938. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht whether he will review the community services programme in view of concerns that it functions as a partial co-funding model in practice, requiring social enterprises to subsidise core service delivery from non-State income sources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47773/26]