Results 11,301-11,320 of 12,487 for speaker:John O'Donoghue
- National Stadium. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: As the House is aware, in January 2004 the Government agreed, after considering a number of options, to provide funding of â¬191 million to the joint IRFU-FAI project for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium. Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company, the company charged with the delivery of the project, has brought the design of the project to the planning stage and submitted a...
- National Stadium. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The Government decided unanimously to construct the new stadium at Lansdowne Road â that much is clear â and it has committed â¬191 million in this regard. The GAA congress agreed to allow international home rugby and soccer games to be played at its stadium in Croke Park while the Lansdowne Road stadium is being redeveloped, but not beyond its development. On the question of there being...
- National Stadium. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: No agreement was worked out with the GAA in respect of the opening of Croke Park. When I delivered the final tranche of â¬40 million to the GAA authorities, it was given with no conditions attached. I made it clear at the time and I do so again now that any decision on the opening of Croke Park for soccer, rugby or any other game is entirely a matter for the GAA. It will continue to be...
- Sports Facilities. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: Work has commenced on the proposed national audit of sports facilities which is being undertaken by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism as part of the development of a long-term strategic plan for the provision of such facilities. A commitment to undertaking such an audit was included in 2002 in An Agreed Programme for Government, which covers the period up to 2007. The subgroup...
- Sports Facilities. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is involved in a data-gathering exercise which will integrate information on facilities funded under programmes administered by it. When the database has been finalised, the present state and condition of the facilities will be established by means of a detailed questionnaire that will be issued to their owners and managers. Deputy Deenihan suggested...
- Sports Facilities. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The sports capital programme gives special attention to rural areas of disadvantage covered by the CLÃR programme and urban areas of disadvantage covered by the RAPID programme. Increased levels of grant aid are allocated to such areas by my colleague, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy à CuÃv. We are seeking to plug the gaps. The comprehensive audit of sports...
- Sports Facilities. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: Yes.
- Sports Facilities. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: Deputy Deenihan may have misunderstood what I am trying to say. The work currently undertaken by my Department is a data gathering exercise which will integrate information on facilities that have been previously funded under programmes administered by the Department. However, the audit will also seek to identify sports facilities provided by voluntary sports organisations, local authorities...
- Sports Facilities. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The experience in Northern Ireland was that it took more than three years to complete the audit. The audit will take some time and there is no point in pretending otherwise. The first step was to assess what has been achieved under the Department's sports capital programme. That has been carried out.
- Film Industry Development. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: I warmly welcome the announcement by the Minister for Finance that the amount that can be raised under the section 481 scheme is to be increased from â¬15 million to â¬35 million, and that a new limit of 80% of the total production cost will replace the existing limits of 55% and 66%. This will do much to restore Ireland's competitiveness in the international marketplace, particularly for...
- Film Industry Development. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: Deputy Wall is correct to state that films are planned a long way in advance and that a certainty in the marketplace in necessary. People can be satisfied that this relief will continue. The former Minister for Finance, Mr. McCreevy, increased the cap to â¬15 million and extended the relief to the end of 2008. The current Minister for Finance has increased the cap to â¬35 million, which is...
- Sports Funding. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The Irish Sports Council was set up as a statutory body in July 1999 with responsibility for the development of sport, increasing participation at all levels and raising standards. The provision in funding for the Irish Sports Council in the 2006 Estimates is â¬40.9 million, in comparison to just over â¬13 million in 2000. The council provides funding to recognised national governing bodies...
- Sports Funding. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: I am a great fan of the Community Games. Unlikely as it might seem, as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform I was also involved in giving grant aid to the Community Games. Indeed, the current Minister today added to the funds which I, in that office, had allocated so between us we have allocated â¬800,000 to the Community Games at Mosney. The Taoiseach is correct that the amount...
- Sports Funding. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: Volunteerism is an important issue. Few organisations of the country boast of a greater level of volunteerism than the Community Games. The men and women who volunteer to assist in sport are the true heroes and heroines of sport in Ireland. In that context, the Community Games movement has a registered adult volunteer complement of approximately 20,000 people and approximately 250,000...
- Sports Funding. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The amount of money allocated to the Sports Council for 2006 is the highest ever, at â¬40.9 million. Clearly, this gives greater scope to the Sports Council to fund various non-governmental organisations and bodies in the State. The Community Games is one example. The organisation has received the highest amount ever. It is also welcome that the organisation has been greatly facilitated by...
- Tourism Promotion. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 41 and 61 together. Having good levels of tourism growth throughout the regions has become an increasing challenge for tourism policy. As a result, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have incorporated a strong regional focus in their current strategies. In this year's Estimates, I obtained substantial additional funding to help the agencies address this...
- Tourism Promotion. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The Deputy and I will need to agree to disagree. If I had taken Dublin out of the eastern region, I would have needed to ensure Dublin was marketed on its own. The market has completely changed. We now have cash-rich and time-poor visitors coming to Ireland. People are booking at shorter notice and coming for shorter breaks. I will deal specifically with the eastern region as requested by...
- Tourism Promotion. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: The core product very much remains. Last night I presented the CIE Tours International awards and I could not believe the satisfaction ratings, with up to 96% of people saying they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their holiday in Ireland and that they would recommend Ireland to a friend. We have probably the best product in the world. Regarding the regions and rural tourism, the...
- Tourism Promotion. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: A very serious marketing campaign is ongoing in Ireland, which we are not ignoring. While foreign revenue generated as a result of tourism stands at â¬4.3 billion, revenue from Ireland was at its highest level last year at between â¬1.3 billion and â¬1.5 billion, which represents a very significant market. The significance of the Irish market is not lost on me. The Irish tourist, more than...
- National Stadium. (1 Mar 2006)
John O'Donoghue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 51 and 53 together. I refer the Deputies to my reply to a priority question earlier today about the progress on the Lansdowne Road stadium refurbishment project. I am aware of the issues in the dispute between the Irish Rugby Football Union and Wanderers Football Club, and that discussions have been taking place between the parties. I have been informed by...