Results 121-140 of 15,792 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has staff based across 5 locations; Trinity Point, 10-11 South Leinster Street, Dublin 2; Government Buildings, Ballina, County Mayo; Na Forbacha, County Galway; Na Doirí Beaga, County Donegal, and Joyce House, Lombard Street Dublin 2. My Department occupies these offices on a tenancy basis and does not own any of the CCTV equipment in operation at these locations. I...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Policies (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: As the Deputy will note, the current administration is approaching it’s first six-months in existence following on from the 2024 General Election, subsequent Government formation negotiations and agreement of a new Programme for Government (PfG) – Securing Ireland’s future. Securing Ireland’s Future contains many commitments across all Government...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Schemes (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department's CLÁR programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced disadvantage and significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. The closing date for receipt of applications under CLÁR 2025 has now passed for all measures. My officials have begun assessing...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Programme for Government (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Our Rural Future 2021-2025 is the Government’s national rural development policy. It has provided vital investment and supports, strengthened local economies, and improved the lives of many people in rural communities across Ireland. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new Our Rural Future policy from 2026. The process of developing...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Programme for Government (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is well placed to contribute to any discussions on the implementation of Programme for Government commitments, particularly as they relate to rural and urban communities. Indeed, my Department already funds a number of programmes that work on an ongoing basis to support and empower sustainable, inclusive and empowered communities, both rural and urban. These include but are not...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Programme for Government (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1052 and 1053 together. Our Rural Future recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated national network of 400 remote working hubs by the end of 2025. There are currently 387 remote and co-working facilities across the country on-boarded to the platform. Details of...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Programme for Government (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Administered by my Department, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a major programme which seeks to support large-scale, ambitious projects which can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. It forms part of my Department's Rural Development Investment Programme, and has allocated €588 million to 243 projects across Ireland to date. ...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Programme for Government (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. The Programme for Government makes a commitment to carry out a comprehensive review of the eligibility criteria for CLÁR within 6 months with a view to expanding the programme to rural areas which are currently ineligible. The review is...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Programme for Government (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland’s Future contains a commitment to ‘maintain and where possible enhance support for Mná Tí at Gaeltacht summer colleges’. In this regard, my Department provides a number of supports for households providing accommodation for summer college students. In order to foster language acquisition and enrichment...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Reports (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Our Rural Future, the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development in Ireland, seeks to ensure that all rural areas are attractive for people to live, work and raise their families in. In line with this, one of the high-level outcomes set out in the policy is for an increase in the number of people living in rural areas. Encouraging young people to remain living and working...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Expenditure (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I understand from Údarás na Gaeltachta that the total construction costs to date of the HiTech health facilities at Páirc na Meán and Eastat Tionscail na Tulaigh are €2,993,334 and that Déantúsaíocht Sláinte HiTech Teo (trading as Hi Tech Health) occupy two spaces owned by Údarás na Gaeltachta. Údarás na Gaeltachta report...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Using both an allocation from the Shared Island Fund and a new capital budget line created by my Department for cross-border co-operation, my Department will be supporting the development of new Irish language and Ulster Scots language and culture projects in 2025 and beyond. The Department is currently in the process of developing proposals for this funding in order to determine if they...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Irish Language (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: An allocation of €4.75m is available in 2025 under my Department's Irish Language Support Schemes for the development of Irish language and cultural centres outside the Gaeltacht. The purpose of the capital assistance provided under this scheme is to strengthen the Irish language as a community and family language in line with the objectives of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Irish Language (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: In the last six years, the budgetary allocation for the Gaeltacht and Irish Language Division of my Department has increased from €58.067m (2020) to €106.73m (2025), representing an increase of almost 84% in that period. This has enabled enhanced support of key initiatives such as the statutory Language Planning process and the roll-out of the Strategy for the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Strategies (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The list below provides details on my Department's policies, strategies and actions plans which compliment funding schemes and interventions intended to improve the economic and social development of rural, urban and Gaeltacht communities. Further information on all of these documents is available on my Department's website www.gov.ie/drcdg.Our Rural Future, Rural Development Policy: a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I agree with the Deputies. In the interests of fairness, we have provided €170 million for a scheme that was not funded prior to 2017. We are working with local authorities. Neither Monaghan nor Tipperary are offenders in this regard, but quite a number of local authorities have a cost per road that is way above the national average. Believe it or not, there are also local...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Since 2021, 4,800 roads have been dealt with under LIS. I agree that we could do with extra funding. We are actively pursuing that and ensuring that people have proper access to their homes and farms.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (10 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The community centre investment fund, CCIF, is my Department's primary funding vehicle for new and existing community centres. It was first introduced in 2022 in recognition of the need for a dedicated funding stream to support investment in the hundreds of community facilities that are at the heart of both rural and urban communities. In Cork, my Department has provided more than...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (10 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I do not disagree with the Deputy. That is why we have invested in the community centre investment fund and why we have put money aside for new centres, new builds, in communities such as Ballyvolane. Twelve of those have been funded and Rylane in Cork is one, and that is why I hope to have another scheme next year for new builds. I am more than happy to work with the Deputies here and the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (10 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is clear that Deputy O’Flynn has done a lot of work. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, tells me he taught in the area so he knows it very well. I cannot give Deputy Gould a guarantee. Local authorities have to prepare plans but judging by the scoping work, site identification work and community meetings, it sounds as though they are doing the necessary preparatory work. It...