Results 6,661-6,680 of 7,556 for speaker:Catherine Martin

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

Catherine Martin: In respect of the current legislative programme, my Department is currently progressing the Registration of Short- Term Tourist Letting Bill and the Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill. Registration of Short- Term Tourist Letting Bill The Registration of Short Term Tourist Letting Bill 2024 provides for new regulatory controls requiring short-term and holiday lets to register with...

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

Catherine Martin: My role and that of my Department in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of national tourism policy development and in securing resources to assist the tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, in implementing that policy. The matter raised is an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland. Accordingly, I have referred this question to that agency for direct...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Television Licence Fee (15 Feb 2024)

Catherine Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 214 and 215 together. Public Service Media plays a vital role in our democracy and our society as a whole. It is therefore essential, as I have always maintained, that households continue to purchase a TV licence and contribute towards funding quality public service media. The total number of TV Licences purchased, and the total revenues collected from these...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Television Licence Fee (15 Feb 2024)

Catherine Martin: Part 9 of the Broadcasting Act, 2009 makes provision for the administration of the TV licence fee system. As statutory collection agent, operational issues regarding collection and enforcement are primarily a matter for An Post, who make every effort to promote the purchasing of a TV licence and thereby ensure compliance. This includes issuing of reminders and undertaking household visits to...

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

Catherine Martin: Under the Arts Act 2003, the Arts Council has primary responsibility for the development of the arts in Ireland. The Arts Council's commitment to the arts is provided for in its 10-years investment Strategy - Making Great Art Work. Arts participation is a core value across all areas of the Arts Council's work and it is committed to increasing public engagement in the arts in Ireland. The...

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

Catherine Martin: It is vital that the tourism sector keeps the value for money proposition to the fore across all its segments to ensure that our high quality reputation is maintained and that new and repeat visitors continue to come to Ireland. While Ireland is not a low-cost destination, the potential long term impacts need to be carefully considered by all tourism businesses in setting their prices. This...

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

Catherine Martin: The proposed Short Term Tourism Letting (STTL) Bill that will provide the statutory basis for the establishment of the STTL register is currently the subject of ongoing engagement with the EU Commission in accordance with the Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) EU Directive 2015/1535. The TRIS process requires EU Member States to notify the Commission of any draft technical...

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

Catherine Martin: Recruitment and retention of staff in tourism, while showing improvement in 2023, continues to be a significant challenge for the tourism sector. My Department and Fáilte Ireland continue to support the tourism industry to build the talent and skills it needs to remain profitable, competitive and resilient. A key priority in this regard is to support tourism businesses to adopt...

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

Catherine Martin: As Minister with responsibility for the tourism, arts and culture sectors, I recognise the valuable symbiotic relationship between these important elements of Irish society and identity. Irish culture in its various forms - built heritage, the arts, cultural institutions, festivals - plays a very significant role in Ireland’s tourism offering and are among the primary motivators for...

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

Catherine Martin: As the Deputy rightly notes, Ireland has long held a reputation for the warmth of its welcome to visitors. The famous céad míle fáilte that awaits visitors to Ireland, combined with the beauty of our landscape and the richness of our culture, are enduring strengths and have been instrumental in making tourism one of our most important economic sectors. Our hospitality is a...

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

Catherine Martin: I am advised that Fáilte Ireland has completed a number of Accommodation Audits to establish a baseline on existing tourism accommodation capacity for local authorities in each destination and region. This includes a quality and gap analysis for additional accommodation development on a county-by-county basis along with the projected accommodation requirements. Additional capacity...

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

Catherine Martin: My role and that of my Department in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of national tourism policy development and in securing resources to assist the tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, in implementing that policy. In Budget 2024 I secured funding of €218 million to continue the support for tourism development at home and amongst overseas visitors;...

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

Catherine Martin: The information requested by the Deputy is being compiled and will issue directly to the Deputy in accordance with the timelines set out in Standing Orders.

Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Feb 2024)

Catherine Martin: I thank Deputy Costello for bringing forward this Bill. I welcome the opportunity to speak on it. The Government will not be opposing the Bill and will allow it to progress for detailed debate on Committee Stage. While the intention of the Bill is laudable, and I agree with the principle behind it, there are number of difficulties which may arise from application of the Bill if enacted....

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

Catherine Martin: My Department's role in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of national tourism policy and implementation of that policy is a matter for the tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, as well as certain other bodies. The matter raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland who manage the register of hotels for the country. I am advised...

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

Catherine Martin: The local media sector plays an essential role in sharing reliable and relevant news and bringing communities together. The wider media sector in Ireland, which is a vital element of our democracy and society as a whole, is undergoing fundamental change. This is in part due to the increased digitalisation of news and media content generally and the associated decline in advertising revenue as...

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

Catherine Martin: The local media sector, which the Deputy refers to in his question, plays an essential role in sharing reliable and relevant news and bringing communities together. The wider media sector in Ireland, which is a vital element of our democracy and society as a whole, is undergoing fundamental change. This is in part due to the increased digitalisation of news and media content generally and the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Tourism Policy (22 Feb 2024)

Catherine Martin: The proposed Short Term Tourism Letting (STTL) Bill remains the subject of ongoing engagement with the EU Commission in accordance with the Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) EU Directive 2015/1535. As part of this engagement, officials from my Department and from Fáilte Ireland met with representatives of the Commission in Brussels on 11 December 2023 and then, on 15...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Television Licence Fee (22 Feb 2024)

Catherine Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 to 160, inclusive, together. Firstly, and as I have stated before, while RTÉ is not the TV licence-issuing agent, nor the sole beneficiary of TV licence receipts, it is appropriate that they air adverts to remind the public of the statutory obligation to purchase a TV licence, and to highlight the public service content which it supports. The...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Tourism Industry (22 Feb 2024)

Catherine Martin: The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is responsible for the provision of accommodation to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and International Protection applicants and has confirmed that its International Protection Procurement Service has responded to an offer of accommodation made in respect of this property. In this regard, the Minister for...