Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the situation in Sudan, and on the Government's position on same. [38023/25]

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his continuing support for our national library programme. When we served together in the Seanad, he was a strong advocate for library services. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I, as Minister of State with responsibility for libraries, are investing in our library services. They are a key priority for both of us and for the Department and that is reflected in the public library strategy. It is an ambitious, forward-looking strategy and one of its key commitments is the delivery of a libraries capital programme. To that end, it is important for Members to bear in mind that the provision of library services is a matter for local authorities primarily.

Within that capacity, under the Local Government Act, we are funding a capital programme this year over a four-year window from 2023 to 2027 that amounts to €22.6 million. Eleven state-of-the-art library projects across the country are being commenced and a further €2.6 million is being invested in 12 next generation mobile library services, including in two new libraries in the Deputy's county of Kildare, in Clane and Newbridge. In addition to this, investment of over €28 million was approved in May of this year under the rural regeneration and development fund for three projects including the provision of new library facilities. Our Department also provides funding annually of over €740,000 as a contribution to support local authorities in leasing buildings for the provision of public library services. In addition, €1.3 million was approved by our Department in November 2023 for the provision of new ICT equipment in public libraries.

Over the past four years, a sum of €40 million has been allocated by the libraries unit in our Department for public libraries across three funding streams, namely, capital projects, current expenditure and the Dormant Accounts Fund. The €2.25 million allocated from the Dormant Accounts Fund has provided, for example, sensory equipment and equipment to support physically impaired library users for libraries in every county. I will provide the Deputy with information detailing the expenditure county by county in tabular form. In the county of Kildare, which Deputy Wall represents so well, a sum of €5.5 million has been allocated during that four-year window.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply. I welcome the fact that €40 million has been spent on libraries. We all agree in this House that every euro spent on libraries is a euro well spent. I start by commending everybody in my hometown of Athy where over the past number of years a former Dominican church was converted into a library. Anyone who has visited that location will see it shows the benefit of converting older buildings into a community library. If they are ever in the town, both the Minister and the Minister of State are welcome to visit that library because it is a model that could be replicated. The Minister of State mentioned converting buildings into libraries, etc., and that community library in Athy is a model that could be replicated in so many places.

My question relates to Newbridge library for which funding of €3 million was recently announced. That will be a county library for the county of Kildare with archive storage, etc., which is very important for any county. I ask again for continued support from the Minister of State's Department for that library in Newbridge, which will be a state-of-the-art library for the whole county of Kildare.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I look forward to visiting the library with Deputy Wall. Just to assure him, the project has received funding of €3 million under the capital programme to support what is a very ambitious and exciting plan for the county library in Newbridge, including archives and a cultural centre. The project will be superb in terms of its size and scale. It will be 2,378 sq. m. It will be four times larger than the existing library in Newbridge and will provide an opportunity to showcase the library service in the county.

As the Deputy knows, it has received stage 2 approval in the Department's four-stage capital management process. I look forward to working with Kildare County Council, the Deputy and other Members of the House in ensuring the libraries capital programme delivers for the people of Kildare. To be fair to Kildare County Council, it has been very progressive and ambitious around the library service and I commend it on the work it is doing. I look forward to working with all Members and Deputy Wall, in particular, on the project for Kildare.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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The latest information I have is that it is hoped the project will proceed in quarter 1 of 2026, which would be very welcome. I mentioned in this House before that Newbridge now has a population of almost 26,000 people, so it is very important we have a functioning library for that size of population. The fact the new building will be four times larger than the existing building, which has run its course but has done the people of Newbridge proud over a long period, is very welcome. I look forward to the opening of that library and the continued support of the Government. The library will have the support of every public representative in the county of Kildare, because it is so important not only to the town of Newbridge but also to the county of Kildare. We have a tradition and history there and a great history department within Kildare County Council. It has a lot of archive material that needs to be shown and displayed. The Curragh history museum is also very important to the county and we can share that history as well through the Newbridge county library. I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I look forward to that project for the people of Newbridge and of County Kildare.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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Since 2020, our Department has allocated Kildare County Council €11.1 million for the public library service, be it the library service to Clane or the mobile library service. It is a testament to the vision of Kildare County Council in terms of its recognition of the importance of our library service.

This is maybe tongue in cheek, but perhaps the Tailteann Cup can be showcased in the new library as well. I wish Kildare every success over the weekend.

It is important we in the Department work with the county council to ensure our libraries capital programme is delivered. I have travelled to a number of libraries across the country. I visited Ennis last weekend and it is fantastic to see what is happening in our libraries and in particular in the My Open Library service as well. As Minister of State with responsibility for libraries, I look forward to working with all Members of the House to ensure the library service's capital programme, the book fund, the mobile library service and ICT is enhanced during the term of our office in the Department.