Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if funding for new and refurbished libraries will be withheld for specific projects in which a council decides against the implementation of the staffless libraries initiative. [37803/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department has allocated some €22m to the development of library premises as part of the new Libraries Capital Development Programme 2016-2021. Funding has been allocated to projects that range from small refurbishment works to larger scale developments and new-builds. It is intended that projects funded under the programme will operate the ‘My Open Library’ service when they are completed. However, this will depend on a number of factors including the scale of the development, the suitability of the library branch for the service and the outcome of the extended pilot phase due to commence in 23 libraries from January 2017. Ultimately, the matter will be progressed with the relevant local authorities as part of the capital project approval process.