The Minister should not run away.

The Minister is running away.

He is making it a challenge.

Question No. 67 will be taken first.

I do not mind.

Deputy Kelly is next, followed by me, and I am up again after that.

Has there been any discussion with TG4 or about TG4's proposal for a Gaeltacht uplift for section 481 tax credit for film production, especially given the success in recent years of Irish language films?

I also extend my condolences to the family of James Flynn and congratulate all those who have been nominated for BAFTAs and Oscars. I also congratulate all those involved in the Irish language film industry as a whole, because they have set an example of what can be done in Cine4 and TG4. Indeed, TG4, in particular, can be praised for having the foresight. That is why it produced the proposal for a section 481 Gaeltacht uplift, similar to the regional uplift, but addressing some of the faults in regional uplift. It…

Yes, they are to be commended and we all wish them well, in particular, with the Oscars. Hopefully, they will come back with more silverware, as it were. It is not silverware because the Oscars are gold. Hopefully, that reflects a greater investment and a greater concentration on Gaeltacht regions in particular. It is with that in mind that TG4 put forward a proposal for a section 481 Gaeltacht uplift. That is not just because the station has produced good films but also because this generates employment in Gaeltac…

Conas is féidir linn déanamh cinnte de nach bhfuil na ceanneagraíochtaí Gaeilge nó Foras na Gaeilge thíos leis ó thaobh maoinithe de tosc an bealach ina bhfuil an DUP ag caitheamh leis an bhFeidhmeannas ó Thuaidh, agus gach rud a bheith gafa sa phróiseas sin ionas nach féidir le árdú nó airgead breise a chur i dtreo na ceanneagraíochtaí?

Aithním na soláthairtí breise atá déanta ag an Aire Stáit le cúpla seachtain anuas agus is maith é sin a fheiscint. Tá géarghá le teacht timpeall ar an sáinn ina bhfuilimid ó thaobh na gceanneagraíochtaí de go háirithe toisc go bhfuil an caiteachas ag ardú ó thaobh foirne, trealaimh, leictreachais agus gach rud eile. Gan CATT ag bualadh tá seans ann go mbeidh na ceanneagraíochtaí thíos leis. Tá sé deacair don Aire Stáit agus do gach duine ach caithfimid féachaint conas is féidir linn teacht timpeall air agus déanam…

Is maith an rud é go bhfuil sé fógartha ag an Aire Stáit go mbeidh cúpla turas aige, nó ar a laghad turas amháin go luath, ó Thuaidh chun gur féidir leis aitheantas a thabhairt do na heagraíochtaí agus grúpaí atá ag obair ó thaobh na Gaeilge. Idir an dá linn, caithfimid déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil bealach éigin inar féidir linn cuidiú leis na ceanneagraíochtaí má tá boilsciú ag tarlú sa buiséad acu. Ní hé an buiséad ach an méid atá á chaitheamh acu ar ghnáthleictreachas, cúrsaí foirne agus a leithéid.

Tapóidh mé an deis seo, mar Chathaoirleach ar Choiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge, chun a rá go bhfuil próiseas réamhreachtach ar siúl agus tá mé ag súil go dtabharfaidh an tAire Stáit tacaíocht dúinn sa mhéid atá á dhéanamh againn. I gceann cúpla seachtain beimid ag lorg aighneachtaí ón bpobal agus iad siúd a bhfuil spéis acu sna ceisteanna atá ardaithe ag an Teachta Ó Cathasaigh, sé sin, ceisteanna faoi inscne agus conas gur féidir linn déileáil leo sin ó thaobh na dtoghchán seo. Be…

This Bill is long overdue. For far too long, An Garda Síochána has been hampered in its ability to tackle crime. Obviously, and I will come back to this, there is a need for every additional power the Minister gives to An Garda Síochána to be linked to oversight and an understanding of why it is being done and whether it is justifiable. If the Minister reads the submission by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, it quite rightly states that in other jurisdictions, some of what is being proposed here has not worke…

Again, I speak on this old chestnut at this stage. An rud atá á lorg agamsa inniu ná cinneadh ón Rialtas go mbeadh ainm an réabhlóidí, Dr. Kathleen Lynn, ar ospidéal na leanaí nua atá le hoscailt an bhliain seo chugainn. Dhéanfadh sé sin aitheantas dá obair mar dhochtúir agus mar cheannródaí mná, leanaí agus cearta. Bean chróga ab ea í ó Chontae Mhaigh Eo. My proposal, since I first wrote to the then Minister for Health, former Deputy James Reilly in 2013, and the three Ministers for Health since then, is that the …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit and I thank her for going off-script. It is important that Ministers stand up once and for all and assert themselves. I have received the same answer for the five years since Children’s Health Ireland was set up. This is its role and it involves State and the public money. The campaign to have the national children's hospital named after Dr. Kathleen Lynn is not a party political one - Dr. Maurice Manning and Dr. Martin Mansergh have supported it, as have many other historians - …

We resume hostilities.

Baineann an cheist seo le bord nua atá le ceapadh d’Údarás na Gaeltachta agus cén fáth gur ligeadh do thréimhse an bhoird sin teacht chun críche gan aon socrú a bheith déanta roimh bhord nua a cheapadh le cathaoirleach nua.

Leis an deis seo, déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit as an Aireacht a bhaint amach agus tá súil agam go mbeidh téarma maith aige agus go mbeidh sé go maith don Ghaeltacht agus don Ghaeilge. Ceann de na fadhbanna bunúsacha anseo ná an teip ar PAS. Cén fáth gur theip ar PAS tús a chur leis an gcóras nó leis an mbealach chun na ceapacháin seo a dhéanamh nuair ba chóir? Beidh an bord ag imeacht i mí Eanáir agus ní bheidh bord nua ag tosú díreach i ndiaidh sin le cathaoirleach nua roghnaithe ag an Aire Stáit. An f…

Is droch-chás é seo mar tá an t-údarás chomh tábhachtach sin. Is féidir leis an údarás leanúint leis an obair atá ar siúl aige mar tá príomhfheidhmeannach agus foireann maith aige agus is léir sin ón tuarascáil a rinne sé an tseachtain seo caite, áit a chur sé arís leis an líon poist. Tá sé go dona nuair nach bhfuil cathaoirleach ag an údarás chun déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an straitéis á leanúint. B’fhéidir go mbeidh tréimhse de roinnt míonna ann nach mbeidh bord nó cathaoirleach ann chun déanamh cinnte de go bhf…