Results 321-340 of 1,071,348 for in 'Dáil debates' OR speaker:Hildegarde Naughton in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Library Services (10 Jul 2025)

Mark Wall: I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply. I welcome the fact that €40 million has been spent on libraries. We all agree in this House that every euro spent on libraries is a euro well spent. I start by commending everybody in my hometown of Athy where over the past number of years a former Dominican church was converted into a library. Anyone who has visited that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Library Services (10 Jul 2025)

Jerry Buttimer: I look forward to visiting the library with Deputy Wall. Just to assure him, the project has received funding of €3 million under the capital programme to support what is a very ambitious and exciting plan for the county library in Newbridge, including archives and a cultural centre. The project will be superb in terms of its size and scale. It will be 2,378 sq. m. It will be four...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Library Services (10 Jul 2025)

Mark Wall: The latest information I have is that it is hoped the project will proceed in quarter 1 of 2026, which would be very welcome. I mentioned in this House before that Newbridge now has a population of almost 26,000 people, so it is very important we have a functioning library for that size of population. The fact the new building will be four times larger than the existing building, which has...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Library Services (10 Jul 2025)

Jerry Buttimer: Since 2020, our Department has allocated Kildare County Council €11.1 million for the public library service, be it the library service to Clane or the mobile library service. It is a testament to the vision of Kildare County Council in terms of its recognition of the importance of our library service. This is maybe tongue in cheek, but perhaps the Tailteann Cup can be showcased...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (10 Jul 2025)

Voluntary Sector

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (10 Jul 2025)

Conor McGuinness: 81. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he shares the concerns of community development workers regarding resourcing of this critically important discipline. [38528/25]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (10 Jul 2025)

Conor McGuinness: Baineann mo cheist le hoibrithe forbairt pobail agus na buarthaí atá orthu i dtaobh acmhainní. My question relates to the critical and important role of community development workers and their concerns around resourcing, both pay and conditions, and also resourcing within organisations. The Minister of State will appreciate from his engagement with community development...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (10 Jul 2025)

Jerry Buttimer: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter and he is right that it is a recurring theme when we speak to people who are very committed to the work they do. The Government's five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector, Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, was published six years ago. It is a whole-of-government strategy, led by our Department...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (10 Jul 2025)

Conor McGuinness: Cuirim fáilte roimh an gcomhairliúchán sin. It is good that consultation, with a view to arriving at a new strategy, is taking place. However, this comes down to a question of resources and to the level of Government funding. There is a huge amount of training and accreditation going on and the bursaries are very welcome. However, it is about creating a situation and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (10 Jul 2025)

Jerry Buttimer: I am committed to continuing to provide supports to the community and voluntary sector. I am not absolving us from any role here but our Department does not set terms and conditions of pay. We are very much of the view that it is about supporting the community and voluntary sector. My priority is to create an environment where the sector can thrive, that is enabling and empowering, and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: This question is fairly straightforward and simple, as I would like to think all my questions are. Has the Minister of State given consideration to establishing a community wealth building fund within his Department? He will know it is very long-standing Sinn Féin policy to support the development of community wealth building. We were in here the other night debating a Bill on ethical...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Jerry Buttimer: I thank the Deputy for her question. Community wealth building is, indeed, a long-standing commitment of the Deputy and her party. As she knows well, the concept refers to a range of approaches to local economic development. While the Department under the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and me does not have a dedicated community wealth building fund as such, our wide range of policies and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: I really welcome that. As I said, this is long-standing Sinn Féin policy but it also makes a lot of sense. I appreciate that the Minister of State outlined what has been done, but the difference between what he has said and community wealth building revolves around key performance indicators, KPIs, to use that jargon. A community wealth building fund is shown to have been successful...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Jerry Buttimer: I thank the Deputy. If we look at the example and model we have here in SICAP, which is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention, it supports communities. I am well aware of Cleveland and Preston. I am not aware of the Ayrshire model and would be happy to discuss that further. I have looked at Cleveland’s model in particular. To give the House an example,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: I do not wish to be argumentative but there is a small difference between what I am saying and what the Minister of State is saying. As much as the community wealth building model is driven by those deliverables, we are looking at measuring improvement in regard to the number of children living in poverty and increasing the percentage of the working-age population in employment, and not only...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (10 Jul 2025)

Jerry Buttimer: As the Deputy knows, the Department is progressing a number of initiatives and policies that provide both urban and rural regeneration through an integrated strategic way of delivering supports, programme schemes and co-ordinating measures to address social disadvantage and imbalance in our communities or, in some cases, a lack of opportunity. I gave the example of the national policy on...