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

Investing in our library service is a key priority for me, as Minister, and this is reflected in the new public library strategy, The Library Is the Place, which I launched in July last year. The strategy recognises that public libraries are at the heart of our communities. My Department is supporting this by providing a wide range of funding for library buildings, mobile library vehicles and ICT equipment. Last month, I announced a new libraries capital programme, which will see a major investment of €22.6 million in 11 state-of-the-art infrastructure projects and a further €2.6 million in 12 next generation mobile library vehicles. Included in that €22.6 million was €3 million for a new library in Swords, County Dublin. This is the successor to the previous libraries capital programme, which invested approximately €29 million and supported 17 infrastructure projects from 2016 to 2022. This is in addition to investing in the My Open Library service, a small-scale capital works programme and mobile libraries. My Department’s rural regeneration development fund has also provided funding of €60.5 million to develop and deliver library projects across rural Ireland. Last November, I announced funding of €1.3 million for the provision of new ICT equipment in public libraries. This investment in 1,685 devices, including PCs, laptops and Apple devices, supports the public library strategy commitment to provide up-to-date ICT infrastructure which makes our public libraries more accessible and digitally inclusive. In July 2022, I announced funding of more than €3.1 million to support the provision of the My Open Library service in 17 new branches and the upgrade of the service in 29 existing branches.

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