Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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3457. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the steps she is taking to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to encourage book clubs for older persons to tackle loneliness. [41145/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As Minister with responsibility for the public library service, I am aware that there are a wide range of services, including book clubs, being provided by our Library Authorities for all age groups. I recognise that, since the beginning of the pandemic, it is more important than ever that our older people remain socially connected, educated and entertained so it was pleasing to see so many Library Authorities promoting the formation of book clubs and also hosting their own book clubs online which made them more accessible to those who may be housebound or vulnerable.

However, it was also recognised that some older people may need to improve their digital skills so the Digital Ambassadors Programme was launched in Ireland’s libraries on January 20th 2021. This programme is a partnership between the LGMA Libraries Development Unit and Age Friendly Ireland and aims to support older people in accessing online library resources, particularly while physical library services were suspended as part of government measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The public library service also provides a wide range of online reading content including some 49,000 eBooks and 38,000 eAudiobooks, 4,000 magazines, 2,500 online newspapers from over 100 countries, over 500 e-learning courses and over 100 online language courses

Many Library Authorities have also been providing a free service for the past year or longer, delivering library items such as books, CDs and DVDs to the housebound and vulnerable and this has been highly valued by their many customers.