Results 621-640 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The announcement in September 2022 regarding early years education and childcare was really significant and in later years will be looked back upon with huge pride as a major achievement of this Government. It was a significant focus of the previous general election. All of us in government should be really proud of what we have achieved with regard to core funding. It is a massive step...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I just want to make one point first. I am not reading out the script that might have been provided to the Senator because it does not reflect the position of the Government and it certainly does not reflect the position of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I am getting that checked. I have been talking to the Minister. The position is that, first, we have championed women's...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Senator and others for raising this issue, including constituents. Some people in Louth were on to me as well about this particular issue. The script that has been provided here, by the HSE or whoever, does not reflect what the Minister has said. I speak with the authority of the Minister and I can state categorically that he has instructed the HSE to write to every woman it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hedge Cutting (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. In Ireland, our relatively low cover of native woodland makes our hedgerows exceptionally important for biodiversity. Hedgerows provide botanical diversity, as well as food and shelter for animals, most notably birds. They also act as corridors that connect habitats. They are a vital part of our biodiversity infrastructure. In general,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hedge Cutting (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I understand the points raised by the Senator and his sincere motivations in this regard but the legal position is that the dates are set out in primary legislation and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has no power or discretion to vary them. The dates can only be altered by primary legislation enacted by the Oireachtas. I will take up the specific point the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: An Clár Caipitil Spóirt (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: Cuirtear maoiniú caipitil don spórt ar fáil tríd an gClár Caipitil agus Trealaimh Spóirt (CCTS) agus tríd an gCiste d’Infreastruchtúr Spóirt ar Mhórscála (CISM). Is é an Clár Caipitil agus Trealaimh Spóirt an príomhbhealach ina gcuirtear cúnamh Rialtais ar fáil maidir le háiseanna spóirt...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (21 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 94 together. The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998 bringing the total allocations in...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (20 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). Both of these capital programmes are demand-driven. The SCEP is the government’s primary vehicle for providing support to sports clubs and communities to develop sports infrastructure around the country....

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (20 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998 bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The latest...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (20 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The process referred to by the Deputy is in respect of significant grant funding to an organisation under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme [SCEP]. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the SCEP, in view of the scale of grant funding in this case, it is necessary to put in place a number of legal protections to best safeguard the public investment in the facility. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I was delighted to visit Lough Lannagh with the Deputy and Senator Chambers some months ago. To be honest, the Deputy brought me but he should probably invite all the chief executives of local authorities around the country to see what is in Castlebar. It is a fantastic facility. I cannot give any commitments here on the floor of the Dáil to any particular projects but that type of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: There will be a competitive process for this. We will not be building stadiums all around Ireland. I want to get that message out. It is not financially possible to do that. Every application will have to come either from a local authority or a national governing body, or perhaps an education and training board. Those organisations then have to stand over the project and deliver it....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The Minister and I have already confirmed that a new round of the large-scale sports infrastructure fund will open for applications in the first half of this year. We are still working out the dates and terms and conditions. They will be confirmed in due course. The programme is aimed primarily at national governing bodies of sport and local authorities but others such as philanthropic...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Deputy for his comments. I have mentioned already the funding the Government gave the Football Association of Ireland in 2020 and it has looked at that over the past number of years. There was a real danger that the FAI would become inoperable if that funding was not provided at the time. The main funding levers through which the Government operates for infrastructure are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: Local authorities, to some extent take their responsibilities seriously in sports but I think that they have a great deal more to do. We especially invite applications under the large-scale sports infrastructure fund from local authorities in the coming round because local authorities have the capabilities to put these projects together. There must be an emphasis on participation, on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The memorandum of understanding agreed in early 2020 between the Government and the FAI allowed Sport Ireland to restore funding of €2.9 million per annum to the association and to provide additional annual funding of €2.9 million for football development up to and including 2023. The memorandum also provided for a repayable grant of €7.6 million to the FAI towards the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The National Sports Policy, which was published in 2018, provided for a new Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the fund is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports projects and facilities where the required Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme. During 2020, allocations of...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 18 together. Capital funding for sport is provided though the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sport and Recreational Development (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: Sport Ireland is the agency responsible for the development of sport in Ireland and in that capacity oversees the delivery of a wide range of funding and other services to support Team Ireland's participation in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. These supports are delivered in accordance with the Sport Ireland High Performance Strategy 2021-2032 which is entering its fourth year of...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998 bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The Programme...