Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On heritage, I wish to comment on the historic towns initiative pilot scheme. I live in Youghal and I have witnessed, at first hand, the value which its designation as a heritage town has added. Youghal is, of course, both a heritage town and a tourist town. Some €240,000 has been allocated in respect of the three towns designated under the historic towns initiative pilot scheme. Will this initiative be extended to other heritage towns in the future? Will there be a second tranche of funding for the towns included under the pilot scheme? Will the Minister indicate if particular projects are going to be put in place in respect of the three towns to which I refer?

There have been some very disproportionate cuts to the funding allocated to the Irish language sector in recent years. There has been a 6.4% reduction in the funding for Gaeltacht support schemes, a 9.4% reduction in the moneys for Irish language support schemes and a 4.4% cut in respect of the islands. As far as I am aware, the Government has not yet implemented the provisions of the Gaeltacht Act 2012 in full. In that context, I understand a number of statutory instruments remain to be put in place. It is clear that there is a lack of resources available in the context of language planning. How does the Minister justify the limited spending in this regard and the reduction in funding in respect of the schemes, etc., to which I refer?