Results 2,281-2,300 of 12,487 for speaker:John O'Donoghue

Arts Plan. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: I have noted the recommendations made in the National Economic and Social Forum, NESF, report No. 35, The Arts, Cultural Inclusion and Social Cohesion, and have asked my officials to take steps in the first instance to put in place the institutional arrangements to implement those recommendations. The proposed strategy committee with an independent chairperson will have the role of...

Arts Plan. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: I extend my thanks to the representatives of all strands of the NESF, that is, the Oireachtas Members, namely, Deputies Deenihan and McManus and Senator Mooney, together with the social partners, Departments and agencies, for their tremendous work in compiling this report. It goes without saying that people have not had equality of access to the arts in Ireland since the foundation of the...

Arts Plan. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: That will be done. The implementation group will be established at the earliest possible date after consultations have taken place. I am conscious of the need to involve young people, which is why we established the arts and education committee last year. This committee had the task of formulating a policy to enable us to ensure the education sector became more involved as regards the...

Lansdowne Road Stadium. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: As the House is aware, in January 2004 the Government agreed to provide funding of €191 million towards the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium as a 50,000 capacity all-seater state-of-the-art facility. The recent decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the project cleared the way for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road to commence. This is an enormously important...

Lansdowne Road Stadium. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: The provision of bar facilities at the new Lansdowne Road stadium is part of the plan. It should be remembered that often modern stadia are not used solely for the purposes of sport. Croke Park is often used for major conferences. In the same way, I anticipate meetings and smaller conferences will take place at Lansdowne Road. Therefore, I anticipate a need for restaurant and bar...

Arts Funding. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: An application for funding was received from this project under the Arts and Culture Capital Enhancement Support Scheme II, better known as ACCESS II. This is the successor to the highly successful ACCESS I scheme, introduced in August 2001, which allocated funding of almost €43 million to 40 projects nationwide. ACCESS has been widely acknowledged as a significant intervention in the...

Arts Funding. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: I had the pleasure of visiting the Garage Theatre and I am aware of the difficulties under which the people running it and performing there operate. Under the new ACCESS scheme, 70% of funds will be directed to the enhancement or refurbishment of existing facilities, with 30% available for new facilities. We received 155 applications from right across the country up to the closing date. An...

Arts Funding. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: Irrespective of how much money a Minister may have, he or she may regard it as inadequate. The reality is I have a certain fund which I have negotiated to the best of my ability and it must be administered to the best of my ability with regard to promoting arts in the country, taking into account geographical demands.

Tourism Promotion. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: I welcome the advent of the open skies agreement, which has long been an objective of Irish tourism policy. Following on the open skies deal, Aer Lingus has announced new services to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington Dulles. These additional routes have the potential to benefit Irish tourism and business links across the country. The new open skies regime will, of course, see the...

Tourism Promotion. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: Last year was the best in the history of Irish tourism, as 7.7 million people visited the country and generated almost €4.5 billion in revenue. It was an extraordinary performance and is indicative of the resilience of the tourism industry. I anticipate that we will exceed those figures this year, surpassing the 8 million visitor mark for the first time. This is a small island on Europe's...

Tourism Promotion. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: Regarding the open skies arrangement, it is anticipated by the chief executives of Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, the officials in my Department and the Department of Transport and the Government in general that open skies will lead to a revolution in Irish tourism. The number of visitors from the United States of America will increase considerably in the coming years. When we speak of...

Tourism Promotion. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: Tourism Ireland has identified 15 major cities in the USA where we can expect substantial growth under open skies. This will mean that we can anticipate a large increase in the number of American visitors. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, has an implementation document regarding the future of Shannon Airport. I have examined the document and stated that the demand for €44...

Departmental Programmes. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: My Department operates a range of promotional programmes and initiatives in the arts, sport and tourism sectors directly or through the many bodies under its remit. The overall policy framework governing the work of the Department is set out in our statement of strategy 2005-07 and regular annual reports, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library or on the Department's website....

Departmental Programmes. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: The Sports Council is neither morally bankrupt nor corrupt. The council is involved in so far as it can be in increasing children's participation in sport. It operates Buntús, which is assisted by the commercial sector, as the Deputy pointed out. I do not know the modalities or methodologies of the situation, but the Buntús programme has been successful. We are trying to increase the...

Departmental Programmes. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: I am neither a pimp nor a wimp. I am trying to explain to the Deputy——

Departmental Programmes. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is involved, through the Irish Sports Council, in trying to help more children to participate in sport.

Departmental Programmes. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: We are using our own funding, where possible, to enable us to do this in the greater interests of society. We are also sourcing funding from the commercial sector, where possible. The Irish Sports Council does this where it is appropriate to do so.

Departmental Programmes. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: It is most unfair of the Deputy — I am surprised at him — to accuse the Irish Sports Council of being amoral and corrupt. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Tourism Industry. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: I understand a Tourism Council operated during the 1990s. It contained representatives of various Departments and State agencies and was chaired by the then Minister for Tourism and Trade. Despite some early progress and enthusiasm, the council had a mixed experience. As its operation was not particularly satisfactory, it eventually petered out. I understand the establishment of a similar...

Tourism Industry. (28 Mar 2007)

John O'Donoghue: When I became Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, I decided to establish the tourism policy review group to examine the tourism industry and ascertain how a greater degree of interaction between the relevant Departments and State agencies could be facilitated. The review group which operated successfully under the chairmanship of Mr. John Travers produced a report that contained over 70...