Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to raise the issue of funding for public libraries. An article in one of my local newspapers, the Tuam Herald, reported that County Galway only spends 20 cent per person on library books. It spent very little on library books compared to other counties but it has a good track record in providing libraries, with 29 branch libraries in the county alongside a mobile service. Galway is the second largest county in the country and more than 500,000 people visited branch libraries there last year. There is great interest in the library service but in light of these disappointing figures, we should be spending more on books. Last year alone, Tuam library recorded close to 50,000 reader visits and figures obtained by the Tuam Herald indicate that more than 80,000 books were lent by the Tuam branch in 2014. Investment in our library services should be given priority, particularly in light of the importance the Government attaches to literacy and numeracy schemes. Libraries also play a social role in that people can use their computer and Internet facilities. Microfilm is also a popular library resource. I understand that approximately 39,000 members are availing of these services. I should use this opportunity to note that some people forget to return books. I am sure the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coffey, would agree that people who borrow books should return them.

In the Seanad recently, my colleague, Senator MacSharry, raised the issue of funding cuts in Sligo County Council and the news that Ballymote library is due to close because of these cutbacks. I am sure similar issues arise in every county, although the Minister of State will be glad to know that Waterford is doing very well in terms of spending per person. Funding for Waterford is approximately €3.26 per person, compared to 20 cent in Galway. The average figure for the country is €1.48. It appears, therefore, that certain areas are not receiving adequate funding. Galway and Sligo are two such examples. The question arises of which will be the next library to close if the cutbacks continue.

The school library service, which is funded through the Department of Education and Skills, also needs more resources in order to purchase new books. If it cannot replace its stock of books every so often, younger students will not develop a strong interest in reading.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Kitt for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, and for providing me with an opportunity to set out the position on funding for the public library services. I would like to state at the outset my own personal commitment to the library service and to library facilities, which make a real difference to communities across the country by offering them the opportunity to learn, read and enjoy a range of material.

The total local authority budget in respect of libraries in 2014 was €143.4 million and funding allocations in respect of libraries in 2015 will see funding of the same order provided to this valuable service. In addition to this funding, my own Department directly provided capital grant aid for libraries totalling €1 million and current expenditure of €1.2 million in 2014 to the service. The capital grant aid allocation for 2015 is €1.5 million, with an allocation of €900,000 for current expenditure.

My Department and the local authorities are committed to the implementation of an ambitious programme for the development of the public library service. This is demonstrated in the public library strategy, Opportunities for All, which sets out a five year strategy for the future of the public library service in Ireland and provides a framework for the development of the public library service in Ireland from 2013 to 2017. In line with national and local government policy, the strategy provides innovative measures to manage existing resources more efficiently in order to continue to develop and deliver a library service which meets the information, learning and cultural needs of individuals and communities and, in so doing, contributes to economic recovery and social and cultural improvement. It also contains a strong commitment to a programme for the development of services to individual users and communities in the public library service which will improve the already high quality of the service.

To further enhance the service, my Department has also requested local authorities to implement new library structures and other provisions recommended in the report, Managing the Delivery of Effective Library Services, in line with Government policy. The objective is to establish stronger, more effective and efficient public libraries and deliver better library services to local communities and citizens.

A shared structure is essential to allow smaller library services to reach the capacity required to deliver the necessary improvements. We are continuing to build on the progress achieved in the library service in recent years with the opening of 145 new state-of-the-art libraries throughout the country and a substantial refurbishment programme for existing libraries. During 2014 seven new or extended libraries opened across a number of local authority areas, including counties Dublin, Limerick, Louth, Longford and Mayo. In 2015 the Lexicon Library in Dún Laoghaire has already opened and an additional six new or extended libraries are planned to open, including services in counties Galway, Wicklow, Waterford, Cork and Laois. It is clear from the ongoing investment that there is a continuing commitment to the public library service. I look forward to the opening of each of these libraries and the continued development of library services across Ireland in the coming years. They are of obvious benefit to young and old in communities across the country.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am glad to hear the programme will continue and that Galway is included in the list of new and extended libraries. We have had some very good developments in the past. Students, in particular, use libraries, as do retired people and, without wishing to categorise anyone, those who are unemployed and people with disabilities. There are very good facilities in place. I repeat, however, the point about school libraries. It is a different and separately funded service, but it must be promoted in the context of the Government's proposal, with which we all agree, on literacy and numeracy.

The most famous public library of all is perhaps the National Library of Ireland, which magnificent facility and building successive Governments have failed adequately to fund. The acting director has said there was a cutback in 2014 of 42% on the figure for the previous year, while I note that there has been an increase in visitor numbers of 85% since 2009. The National Library of Ireland is very important in terms of tourism and for Irish residents and if we have continual cutbacks, the results will be very serious. Some of the €2 million provided by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, went to the National Library of Ireland, which was only right.

Let us ensure we do not cut back on libraries. Certainly, we should not cut back on staff numbers. We are a long way behind our neighbours in Scotland and Wales, in particular, on staffing and I would like to see the investment in libraries continue. We should look at counties with huge geographic areas that need mobile libraries and new investment. While there is, rightly, a great deal of funding in Dublin, given its huge population, we sometimes might forget about towns with huge rural hinterlands that do not have the same library facilities.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I reiterate the commitment of my Department and its Ministers to local authorities and the public library service, including its future development. A sum similar to the €143.4 million allocated for libraries in 2014 will be allocated in 2015 to a very valuable service. It is important that the service has a strategy in Opportunities for All. The strategy recognises the continuing need for this community service and space to be available in as many centres of population as is feasible. My Department and the local authorities that deliver the service are committed to the implementation of the strategy.

The Deputy will agree that a comprehensive, varied, well maintained and up-to-date library collection is at the heart of what the service offers the public. It is instrumental in supporting literacy, developing life skills and social cohesion and enabling lifelong learning. Before 2008, many local authorities had achieved a level of spend on library stock of €3.77 per capitaor were very close to achieving it. Owing the downturn in the economy and a lack of available funding, it was not possible for local authorities to maintain the book funds at the pre-existing level. In recognition of the importance of restoring these funding levels, Opportunities for All again sets out a per capitastock fund target of €3.77 for each local authority. Local authorities and my Department are working to achieve this figure.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. The library service is an essential and valuable one at the heart of rural and urban communities across the State. I reiterate the commitment to maintaining the sustainability and viability of the front-line library service and keeping the book stock up to date into the future.