Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

Tá áthas orm labhairt leis an gCeann Comhairle agus leis na Teachtaí maidir leis an leithdháileadh de €1.51 billiún atá tugtha do mo Roinn i mbuiséad 2026 agus cur síos a dhéanamh ar roinnt de na bearta a chothóidh, a fheabhsóidh agus a fhorbróidh na hearnálacha atá faoi mo chúram.

This is the first budget for my Department in its new configuration with responsibility for arts, culture, media, telecommunications and sport. The sectors the Department will support through budget 2026 resonate with the core of who we are as individuals and as a people. They are intrinsic parts of the daily life of each and every citizen and visitor to the island, whether visiting a museum or gallery, listening to music, watching the news, attending a sports event or engaging with the wider business, cultural or sporting world using fibre broadband in every corner of the country. The sectors under the aegis of the Department not only enhance our lives through mental and physical well-being, but also provide vital employment and a significant return on taxpayer investment.

The current global challenges can seem overwhelming with continued global conflict, climate change and the rise of misinformation. Against that backdrop, the work carried out by my Department and the bodies under its aegis is critical in raising spirits and unifying people through sports experiences and participation and a vibrant cultural ecology. It is also vital in providing dependable independent media and information and readily accessible online communications. The work this Department supports serves as a guiding light when the world seems to be in shadow.

Budget 2026 provides for increased funding across all programme areas. Additional current funding of €49.8 million has been provided along with a further €81 million in capital uplift. This represents a total increase of 9.5% over 2025. The provision of €384 million for the arts and culture programme will serve to promote and develop Ireland's world-class artistic and creative strengths at home and abroad, maximising their societal, economic and reputational value for the country.

An allocation of €18.27 million will be provided for the basic income for the arts scheme and its successor. This facilitates the completion of the pilot phase to the end of February and enables me to bring proposals for a successor scheme to the Government, taking account of the quantitative and qualitative research data, public and stakeholder consultation feedback and the findings of the cost-benefit analysis carried out on the scheme. Once I have secured the agreement of the Government, I will open the new scheme for applications. It is therefore likely that it will be the second half of the year before payments under the successor scheme will begin. The application process will be opened earlier in the year.

An additional €2.1 million has been provided to Screen Ireland to support its work in making Ireland a competitive destination for major international motion pictures and the progression and development of a new strategy to grow the gaming sector in Ireland. I welcome the new measures announced by the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, enhancing the relief under section 481 for eligible projects in the visual effects industry. I have also intimated to the Minister that, in subsequent budgets, I would like to revisit the issue of regional uplift. Substantial supports have been provided up to now not only directly through Screen Ireland, but also through section 481. The producers themselves are very confident and happy not only with the Dublin and Wicklow area, but also regionally in Limerick. Places like Troy Studios have been busier in recent years and there have been a number of very important productions there.

Culture Ireland's budget has been increased to €8.8 million to help to develop and sustain Irish artists' international careers. In 2026, Culture Ireland will continue to increase funding for its showcase activity across the world as an impactful way for international presenters to be introduced to emerging Irish artists. A further significant allocation will be made in the Revised Estimate to enable Culture Ireland to present a major cultural programme next year as part of the EU Presidency.

I have made an additional allocation of €600,000 to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2026 with Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann i mBéal Feiriste.

Continued funding for the Creative Ireland programme, delivered directly by my Department in partnership with local authorities and other Departments and agencies, will continue to unlock the power of creativity across many sectors. I have allocated an additional €4.7 million across seven national cultural institutions. This will address a number of needs in those institutions. It will also serve to expand education, learning and outreach programmes.

Almost €85 million in capital funding has been allocated to the culture and arts sector. This will facilitate a number of key projects, including the completion of the repository at the National Archives. Funding will also be provided for major redevelopments at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, and these are due to commence later this year. In addition, we are on track to begin the Discover Centre redevelopment at the National Concert Hall, which will provide for learning and engagement in music. A new €6 million capital works scheme will be introduced to fund arts capital projects across the country, in line with a commitment in the programme for Government.

The communications allocation for my Department has increased by over €40 million to a total of €483 million. The aim of the relevant programme is to deliver world-class connectivity and communications, ensuring that agile, responsive and resilient digital infrastructure is in place and supporting the transformation of the digital economy.

The roll-out of the national broadband plan will be ahead of schedule and within budget. I am pleased to have allocated €433 million for the plan for next year. Over 420,000 premises are forecast to be passed by the end of 2025, with approximately 4,000 new connections now being completed every month. For those who said this would never happen, these are amazing statistics. Design work has been completed in townlands across every county, with over 567,000 premises now surveyed. This programme is transformative for rural Ireland.

I have stated previously that we must ensure the security and resilience of our communications and digital infrastructure in the face of increasing threats, both from malicious attacks and extreme weather. My Department is reviewing the statutory powers available to me, as Minister, and to ComReg in relation to requirements placed on operators around network restoration.

In respect of postal policy, the Government remains committed to supporting Ireland’s post office network. In line with the programme for Government, I am allocating €15 million for the network. This will be subject to Government approval of a successor to the current scheme, but I am confident that it will be rolled out early in the new year.

Clearly, the online world has changed the nature of our postal services. It has also created challenges for the post office network. However, it also gives rise to opportunities. It is important, therefore, that the network positions itself to take these opportunities to ensure its sustainability and remain a vital service. The Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, will speak further about that in the time ahead.

On broadcasting and media, the total allocation for 2026 is €357 million. This funding will continue to promote and protect a diverse and pluralistic media sector by ensuring the provision of high-quality public service programming and public interest journalism. TG4’s public funding for 2026 is just over €65 million, which will enable increased investment in the commissioning of high-quality Irish-language content, from children’s programming to documentaries, films and drama. The increase of over €5 million compared with 2025 will enable TG4 to develop a new digital service to meet the needs of Irish speakers across the country.

In line with the Government agreement reached last year, RTÉ will receive €240 million in public funding to continue implementing its new strategy. I am also allocating funding to continue to ensure the ongoing independence and recognised integrity of our independent media sector and to help to protect a free and pluralistic media sector. An additional €4.4 million in Exchequer funding has been allocated to support media funding schemes administered by Coimisiún na Meán. Alongside this, a new provision of €1.1 million has been allocated to support the implementation of the national counter-disinformation strategy, bringing total supports to the independent media sector to €35.5 million.

Sport is a core part of what makes us Irish, as seen from our recent successes at the Ryder Cup, the World Athletics Championships and the UCI World Cycling Championships, as well as the popularity and economic success of the National Football League events held in Ireland. All the while right around the country, club championships ignite the passion of local communities. The Government is committed to supporting that passion, from grassroots level right up to elite-athlete level. Provision for the sports sector will see an increase of 25.9% in 2026. This will be reflected in investment in facilities throughout the country via the Community Sports Facilities Fund, which has an allocation of €58 million, and an additional €18.7 million for the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund. We will launch those in early 2026.

We have also provided significantly increased funding to support Ireland’s sports organisations and programmes. This includes €3 million for the FAI, €983,000 for the GAA, €722,000 for the IRFU, €1.56 million for the Gaelic Players Association; and €1.5 million for high-performance sport. These increases will allow for the delivery of the FAI-League of Ireland academies, support the IRFU to enhance women’s rugby and go towards the much-needed development of hurling, our national game. We have a number of major sports events planned for the coming years.

I am confident that the increased budget allocation for the Department will place these sectors in good stead for the future and enable us to build on the good work already under way.

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