We must also take into consideration the two years we have had with the pandemic. As I said, the €20.2 million in Westport House was Fáilte Ireland's largest investment ever in a singular tourism product. Funding was also awarded to Mayo County Council to develop the two state-of-the-art facilities to which I referred. Mayo County Council was also a successful applicant for the outdoor dining enhancement scheme, with Claremorris and Castlebar receiving funds. The Clew Bay destination experience development plan, wh…

Fáilte Ireland indicated at the time that it would consider a second round but the current focus is on delivering the first round. A second round has not been ruled out, however. At a regional local level, Fáilte Ireland develops, supports and promotes tourism in line with the relevant tourism experience brands. To guide medium to long-term development, Fáilte Ireland aims to deliver four new regional tourism strategies in 2022, which will set out a ten-year vision and a five-year action plan for each region. At a …

Ireland's well-being framework is the result of a programme for Government commitment to develop a set of well-being indices to create a well-rounded, holistic view of how Irish society is faring. The overarching vision for the framework is enabling all our people to live fulfilled lives now and into the future. The framework is a cross-government initiative, which is led by the Department of the Taoiseach and jointly sponsored by the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform. The second report on Ir…

I firmly believe that culture and language are vital for our well-being in Ireland. This was clearly demonstrated particularly with regard to culture during the Covid-19 pandemic, and I will continue to make this clear to my colleagues in the Government. The Deputy referred to Wales. A key lesson, too, is that it is an iterative process requiring patience, commitment and planning, as the embedding process takes time. For example, in New Zealand, which the Deputy referenced in his initial question, there is the incl…

I will enjoy that at the weekend. A tourism recovery task force was established in May 2020 and delivered a tourism recovery plan with recommendations on how best the Irish tourism sector could adapt and recover in the changed tourism environment. Later that year, I appointed a recovery oversight group to oversee the implementation of this plan. This group has reported regularly to me and has provided valuable inputs to the Government on the measures required to assist the sector. The recovery oversight group is co…

With regard to the hotel prices the Deputy mentioned, my officials have engaged with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the Irish Tourism Industry Conferation, ITIC, and the IHF. They are also working with the tourism agencies. The Tánaiste and I co-chair a tourism and hospitality forum. That will be convening next week and we will raise those issues with it. I wrote to the DAA at the time, although it is not under my remit. I could see the potential and I wrote to …

As I said, the smooth running of Dublin Airport is of critical importance in terms of the recovery of the tourism sector. The DAA has the statutory responsibility to operate, manage and develop Dublin Airport, including all the operations associated with security screening at the airport. The passenger experience at Dublin Airport is falling far short of the service that citizens and visitors should expect at our largest State airport. The Government recognises the undue stress that these unacceptable delays are ha…

My Department runs an annual small-scale local festivals and summer schools scheme. The scheme is reserved for appropriate not-for-profit festivals, summer schools and other such events. Funding available under this scheme is typically capped at €5,000. Although making available relatively modest amounts, the value of the payments under this scheme is amplified hugely by the community commitment and voluntary effort that bring about these events, which are greatly enjoyed and appreciated around the country. The sch…

I agree with Deputy Dillon that festivals are of great significance to communities, even more so now after two years of being deprived of the festivals. The 2022 allocation has been capped at €5,000. The announcement is imminent for the 2022 allocation, which remains as it is. Although the scheme is capped, it is working in that it has a massive impact on local communities. There are no plans in train to increase the allocation. The current scheme, which is capped at €5,000, will be announced very shortly.

Heritage, tradition and culture are not the exclusive preserve of a few, nor to be found only within institutions. These festivals are essential to community life. They thrive and develop among people shaped by their diverse interests and enthusiasms. I am very pleased to provide supports for such events. Other supports are provided by my Department. We also operate schemes to support links and strengthen exchanges in relation to culture, heritage and history with counterpart groups in Northern Ireland. Completing …

I thank the Senator for her amendments. I cannot accept amendment No. 188 because, as a matter of principle, I cannot accept amendments that would unduly limit the discretion of the comisiún in the creation and maintenance of regulatory codes. However, the proposal in amendment No. 189 is a good one and while I reject the amendment today, I am considering the matter for Report Stage.

It is important to note that not all online safety codes will apply to every designated online service. The designation of online services for regulation and the application of different online safety codes to them is based on assessments of risk. As such, requiring the provision of information from providers of designated online services of their compliance with all online safety codes does not align with the model of regulation provided for in the Bill. An coimisiún is empowered to require the provision of large …

I thank the Senators for their amendment. We agree that it is important that the Bill contains robust and proportionate powers of investigation and enforcement sufficient to ensure compliance with the online safety codes issued by an coimisiún. As the Senators will be aware, the Bill as initiated already provides for significant administrative financial sanctions in respect of a contravention under the Bill and for the liability of a director or manager of a designated online service for a specified criminal offenc…

As the Senator said, this is ground-breaking legislation. It represents the first steps to regulate user-generated online content. In establishing a whole new regulatory framework and regulator to enforce it, Coimisiún na Meán, the Bill lays a foundation that we can build on. There will be changes to the regulatory framework, driven by initiatives taken at EU level, for example, not least through the recently agreed EU digital services Act, which does not take the approach proposed by the Senator. It is important t…

They will not be in a position to share the advice but they will discuss the principles with the Senator.

As I have said previously, it is not usual practice to lay internal records of processes and activities of public bodies before the Oireachtas, nor for the Oireachtas Library and Research Service to store such materials. As such, I do not see the value in doing so. Regarding the matter of the records of consultations, I again note that I understand the intention of the amendment is to ensure the transparency of the comisiún in respect of those persons it seeks to consult with. However, as I said previously, as a pu…

I thank the Senator for tabling the amendment. The purpose of section 139X of the 2009 Act as inserted by the Bill is to require the comisiún to develop a strategy to ensure its compliance with the provisions of the e-commerce directive 2000 regarding the liability framework for intermediary service providers set out in that directive. The purpose of this provision does not relate to the matters raised by the Senator’s amendment and, as such, I do not accept it.

I acknowledge the importance of ensuring that the offence-specific category of harmful online content appropriately covers all online content that relates to the offence of assault. I understand that the intention of amendments Nos. 194a and 194b is to ensure that the use of "force" does not unintentionally exclude the non-contact application of such, for example, through online content. I am satisfied that this is not the case, as "force", which is defined in section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person …

To be clear, the definition of "force" in the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 includes, as specified in section 2(2)(a) of that Act, "application of heat, light, electric current, noise or any other form of energy". I do not see a circumstance in which the matter raised by the Senator would not be covered.

I am confident of that.