Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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1183. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the location of the planned 93 generators that are scheduled to be provided to address potential extreme weather events; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63612/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is prioritising supports aimed of enhancing the resilience of rural communities, including in relation to their ability to respond effectively to extreme weather conditions. For example, schemes such as CLÁR, LEADER, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, and the Community Centres Investment Fund continue to provide significant levels of financial support for the development and maintenance of key pieces of community infrastructure.

The Community Centre Investment Fund alone has allocated €110 million in less than 3 years. These community facilities are central to the emergency response with the potential to provide access to basic welfare needs such as food, mobile phone charging, shower and hygiene facilities, and a connection to Wi-Fi/internet.

To further support these community centres, my Department is working with the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management and local authorities to ensure that there is a sufficient bank of mobile emergency generators in each local authority area that can be deployed as needed. The details are currently being finalised. However, it is intended that these would be mobile generators capable of being deployed for use across multiple locations and local authority areas, depending on need at any given time.