Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We recently funded town centre first officers in all local authorities. That is an extra resource. We have the rural recreation officers as well, whom we fund.

To return to the LIS, Kerry indicated it could deliver €3.6 million worth of works in 2024, while Cork indicated it could deliver €5.4 million of works in the same year. Kerry County Council had a small underspend of almost 10% in 2022, as did Cork. The Deputies may keep the councils at it and make them spend the money.

As regards Cork being number three, there is not much in it between Cork and Galway. Number one on the LIS funding scheme is County Donegal. It got €11,421,000 to date. Galway, at €10,282,000, was a close second, while following close behind was Cork, at €10,118, 000. There is not a hair's breadth between Galway and Cork. It is money well spent. Deputy Paul Donnelly and I were discussing Culture Night earlier. We had Culture Night from Donegal. They were out on Árainn Mhór. The Deputy was out there himself. It came from the beautiful plaza on the beach that we funded. To where else did they turn then, only Dunlewey and the beautiful centre there. We are helping them to try to get that back on track. There are loads of things happening in Donegal. In fairness, Culture Night showcased them well.

See this speech in context