Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

I was contacted recently by a student living in Balbriggan. He told me that he is there every morning 20 minutes before the library opens because there is a massive queue of people. That is a ringing endorsement of the work done by the people working in Balbriggan library and indeed all our libraries - I understand we in north County Dublin are not unique in that respect. Will the Minister give consideration to conducting a small survey, with reference to the previous point made, about utilising any existing capacity that might be within a town to expand that space? It is a really positive and good thing that people are actively trying to get into the library but it is unfortunate that sometimes they are turned away. We are in the middle of a housing crisis and many people live in very overcrowded accommodation. The library has never been more important in our towns, cities and villages. Will the Minister consider doing that survey to see where there might be a need for additional resources or additional capacity?

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