Results 1-20 of 24,015 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Swimming Pools (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: The first requirement is for the county council to be proactive. While I certainly will be proactive in trying to ensure we secure funding and deliver swimming pools throughout the country, we will only be able to deal with applications that are on our desk. It is highly likely we will not be able to deal with every application, given the level of demand, but we will be doing our best to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Swimming Pools (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: As the Deputy knows, we had a round recently in which almost 30 projects across the country were grant-aided under the large-scale support infrastructure fund, LSSIF. The focus on the short term is to work with all of those applications that were successful in the recent round, as well as with a good number from 2019, to ensure that they are progressing, that funding is getting drawn down...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Swimming Pools (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Carthy. As he knows, capital support for new swimming pools and the refurbishment of existing pools continues to be provided by the Department through the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF, which to date has allocated €28.9 million to nine swimming pools throughout the country. Investment in a swimming pool for Monaghan, as the Deputy knows, is a matter for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Network (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: I know from having spoken to the Deputy that he is very committed to the post office network and wants to see it developed. I thank him for raising the matter. As he is aware, the Government is committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network which, as we all know, is a key component of the economic and social infrastructure of communities across the country. The programme for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Network (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: We will continue to determine how we can ensure we utilise and maximise the post office network in terms of providing face-to-to face services to local communities. As he knows, in many small villages post offices are the last remaining face-to-face service. They provide important services in towns of all sizes, in particular small towns. We want to make sure that we examine how we can...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Network (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: We are very clear on the importance of Government funding and the three-year contract to make sure post offices are sustained. I have no doubt we would have seen closures over the past three years if it had not been for the Government stepping up to the mark. We are also very clear on the importance of us continuing to step up and support the network. We have received a submission from...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Funding (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: I acknowledge the Deputy’s ongoing advocacy on behalf of sporting organisations in his constituency. We expect to open the sports facilities fund, which is for clubs up to a maximum of €200,000, next spring with announcements next autumn. It normally runs every two years. We have only ever run two iterations of the large-scale sports infrastructure fund, the first in 2019 and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sport and Recreational Development (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I know it is something he is committed to. We have spoken about it before. Encouraging clubs to collaborate particularly with local authorities under a municipal approach could deliver significant benefits to sporting organisations and opportunities for people in local communities to engage in sport across the country and, from the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sport and Recreational Development (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: We have asked Sport Ireland to conduct an exercise to assess gaps in particular sporting facilities around the country in order that we get an overall sense of what the facilities are in different areas and are able to factor that into our future sports capital considerations and announcements. My experience, and I am sure the Deputy’s too, is that almost all clubs across all sports...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sport and Recreational Development (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: We will look at all of this. I want to ensure that our local authorities are thinking seriously about sporting facilities in their planning for an area and their use of land, particularly existing land. I also want to ensure our schools are thinking about how they can collaborate with sporting clubs. While land is a challenge, there is a lot of latent potential in the land we have. In the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Funding (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: As the Deputy will be aware, for the Paris Olympic cycle 2021-2024, the Government provided a record level of investment of approximately €89 million towards high-performance sport. This was a substantial increase on the €59 million invested for the previous Tokyo cycle. In line with the Government's target of delivering €30 million per annum for high-performance sport...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Funding (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: It is fair to recognise we have come a long way and a large part of that has been down to the funding that the Government has put behind our athletes, alongside really good governance and planning and strategic direction, both by Sport Ireland and the national governing bodies but, of course, on top of all of that and most important is the commitment and excellence of our athletes. That...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Facilities (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. It is appropriate that we discuss the issue today, given the good progress we have seen. All of us welcome the commitment of €50 million from the British Government. Let us now continue to move forward. The stadium has been a tremendous loss to Belfast, the province and the island. It has fallen into disrepair and is not being used. We want it to be rebuilt...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Facilities (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. In February of last year the Government agreed to a range of funding allocations of more than €800 million to affirm its commitment to work with the Northern Ireland Executive and with the UK Government to make cross-Border investments that will make the island of Ireland a better place for all of us who call it home to live. This is evidence of course of our...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sports Facilities (26 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: We are all united in this House on the importance of this project going forward. That is very much represented by the Government's financial commitment to the project as well. When the redevelopment of Casement Park was first mooted in 2013, a budget of £77.5 million was envisaged to complete the project, made up of £62.5 million from the Northern Irish Executive and UK...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Sports Funding (24 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: The organisation referred to by the Deputy applied for a grant of €200,000 towards the re-carpeting of an artificial grass pitch from the 2023 round of the Community Sports Facilities Fund (formerly the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP)) The club had already been allocated €150,000 towards this project from the 2020 SCEP. Under the terms and conditions of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Sports Funding (24 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: Sport Ireland, which is funded by my Department, is the statutory body with responsibility for the development of sport, including the recognition of sporting bodies for funding purposes. I have referred the Deputy's question to Sport Ireland for direct reply in relation to its role in the matter mentioned by the Deputy. I would ask the Deputy to inform my office if a reply is not received...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Sports Organisations (24 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: Sport Ireland is the statutory body with responsibility for the development of sport, increasing participation at all levels and raising standards. It also has responsibility for governance oversight of National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of Sport, Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) and other funded bodies. I have referred the Deputy's Question to Sport Ireland for direct reply on this matter....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Olympic Council of Ireland (24 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: Sport Ireland, the statutory agency with responsibility for the development of sport in Ireland, including high performance sport, undertakes such reviews after each Olympic/Paralympic Games. The Deputy will be pleased to note that a review into the Paris Cycle has been completed and was published last December. It is available from the Sport Ireland website.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Olympic Games (24 Jun 2025)

Charlie McConalogue: For the Paris Olympic cycle 2021-2024, the Government provided a record-level investment of approximately €89 million towards high performance sport. This was a substantial increase on the €59 million invested for the previous Tokyo cycle. In line with the Government’s target of delivering €30 million per annum for high performance sport by 2027, as indicated in...