Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for attending. I raise the need for the provision of a public library in Mahon and Blackrock in Cork city, the only area in the southside of the city without a library service. In light of the city's expansion, there is a need to open a library.The mobile library service has been discontinued. The library offers huge potential to the residents, both young and older, in this vast area of Cork city. Public representatives and politicians met members of the local community, local schools, parents and residents and they outlined to us the real need for the library. They had a petition, which they presented to Cork City Council. Students in the local primary school made a video in which they showcased their day trip to the library and the benefits accruing from it were unbelievable. The linkage between home, school and community underlines the need for a library. Above all, there has been a saga around the site provision in the Mahon-Blackrock area with Cork City Council.

The reason I raise this matter is that, with a population requiring and deserving a library and with a deficit from a local amenity point of view, it is clear that there is an appetite for a library. Mahon-Blackrock is a developing and emerging part of the city and it has a catchment area that requires resourcing and investment,. To be fair to the Minister, he and his Department are doing are doing a wonderful job with the area via the RAPID programme.

The local community centre, under the management of Mr. Denis Coffey, had a good library facility whereby books were left on a shelf and people could come in and borrow them. However, that services has been discontinued. In order to augment the work being done by the Department, via RAPID, and the work in the community centre, it is imperative, from a community and educational point of view, that Cork City Council and the Department make provision for a library in the area.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter because it gives me the opportunity to outline the position regarding the provision of public library services in Mahon. The provision of such services is generally a matter for local authorities in accordance with the Local Government Act 2001. This includes responsibility for managing day-to-day operations and staffing, providing services and programming to local communities and providing and maintaining library buildings. Accordingly, the provision of library services in Mahon is a matter, first and foremost, for Cork City Council. The latter currently supports ten public libraries in Cork city, including those in Ballincollig, Glanmire and Blarney, which joined the Cork city network in May following the Cork city and Cork county boundary revision.

While Mahon was served by a mobile library until the vehicle was retired in November 2014, the area has never been served by a dedicated community library. The nearest library to Mahon, which has a population of around 13,000, is in Douglas, just under 4 km away. That said, I am aware that the provision of a library for the south-east ward, to serve the communities of Blackrock-Mahon, remains a priority for Cork City Council. The council intends to develop a library similar to that opened in Hollyhill-Knocknaheeney in 2015. However, finding a suitable site in the area has proven difficult. Cork City Council has explored a number of possible locations for the new library, either as a stand-alone facility or as part of a larger development. This included the former HSE health centre building at Lakelands Crescent. While this site provides generous space and is close to schools, it was deemed unsuitable because it did not have a sufficiently high profile on the street and is not easily accessible from both parts of the peninsula. Cork City Council continues to seek a site for the new library as a priority.

Local authorities invest €150 million a year in local library services and my Department also funds a libraries capital development programme. This programme was launched in January 2016 and I expect it to invest almost €29 million in 19 projects, and the new My Open Library service, over the period to the end of 2022. The programme supports priority proposals submitted by local authorities but all funding under the programme is fully allocated at present. That said, my Department continues to accept and progress proposals through the four-stage library approval process.

My Department has had initial discussions with Cork City Council regarding a new library for Blackrock-Mahon, but, to date, no funding proposal has been submitted.Should Cork City Council submit a proposal, it will be processed through the Department's approval process and will be considered for support should additional capital moneys become available and in the context of other priority proposals submitted to my Department. Alternatively, Cork City Council may wish to consider submitting a proposal for a new library as part of the broader proposal for the regeneration of the Blackrock and Mahon area under the urban regeneration and development fund, which is administered by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply and welcome his support for the proposed library. It is important that, from today, Cork City Council expedite its plans for the provision of a local library in the Blackrock and Mahon area. To be fair to the Minister, he outlined a number of sites that are suitable for the provision of a library service in the area. I call on Cork City Council to submit a funding proposal to the Department to proceed with the provision of a library in Mahon as a priority. I thank the Minister for the ongoing work in the Mahon area. This is a significant issue. There is a deficit in the area. Cork City Council now has an obligation to expedite the provision of this library.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator again. Since I came into office, there has been a new emphasis on libraries. The My Open Library service is working very well. In the past two years, I have put any savings achieved in the Department into facilities and equipment for libraries. I have a great love of libraries. I hope that Cork City Council can make an application and we will try to process it. More funding is becoming available over time and the urban regeneration scheme and rural regeneration scheme are in place. We are allowing applications, especially for the rural scheme. We provided some funding for Kinsale under the rural regeneration scheme to open a fantastic new library in the town. I compliment Cork City Council on winning many awards over the years. It won an award for having the best local authority library service in 2014, 2015 and 2018. If there is one thing that local authorities do well, it is libraries. To be fair to them, the local authorities provide libraries with significant funding, while the Department provides funding for capital and equipment. The local authorities are good for the libraries and I compliment them on that.