I am committed to developing an academy structure, but we must be very clear about how we step it out, ensuring it is impactful and there is a clear plan and direction of travel in place for that journey.

I congratulate Deputy O'Shea on a very strong election result. I wish him well in his term of office. I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 11 together. The programme for Government, in which the Deputy had a role in negotiations, commits to supporting the sporting ecosystem so that more people can participate in and reap the benefits of sport and fulfil their potential from grassroots right up to high performance level. We will achieve this through a number of measures, including maintaining sports funding to get…

I thank Deputies Burke and O'Shea. I expect it to be spring 2026 when we open up for applications to be submitted and the expectation is that funding will be made available in the autumn period. That is certainly the timeline to which we are working. On Deputy Burke's point, we have just completed the appeals process and are now reviewing the operation and impact of it and how the whole process works. We want to make sure it is amended in any way necessary so that it works as effectively as possible for those apply…

That is certainly something I will take on board in terms of making sure support is available for those who might need it so that their applications meet the criteria and are put together correctly. That is obviously important in terms of ensuring a successful outcome for applicants. In the most recent round of funding, the Department provided opportunities for clubs that were not successful to engage closely with the appeals process to determine the reasons and see if they could be rectified. It is fair to say tha…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 49 together. I congratulate Deputy O'Hara on his election and thank him for the question. I know there is a similar question about Carrickmacross from Deputy Carthy. My Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, the community sports facilities fund, formerly known as the sports capital and equipment fund, and the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. Capital support for new swimming pools is now provided through the LSSIF. Projects for new swimming …

It is important that there is engagement locally and that the Deputy works with the local authority in Galway about how this can be stepped out. I know there was a recent meeting about it. I have been speaking with Senators Curley and Rabbitte and Deputy Dolan about it. It is important to engage with the local authority in its capacity to work with the local community to develop the project, and with Swim Ireland too, and to see the capacity of the local authority to help to step it out. A trend I have seen is that…

No application was received from Loughrea as part of the LSSIF funding round. It is important, in advance of the next round of LSSIF, the date of which we have not decided yet, that there is engagement at local level about how that project can step forward, working with Galway County Council. It is not currently open. What we are doing is compiling a reserve list for all of those applications that did not get funding under the most recent LSSIF. As I said, there was €665 million worth of applications and only €173 …

I thank the Senator for raising this. I congratulate him on his re-election and on a very fine vote. I congratulate Senator Joe Conway as well and welcome him to the Seanad. I congratulate Senator Maria Byrne on her re-election and of course also congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his election to the Chair, which is a great honour. He has my best wishes for his term of office. On the Commencement matter Senator Boyhan has raised, I will certainly relay his opening comments on his understandable preference to have a …

I thank the Senator. As I outlined earlier, there had been an increase in applications received for registration by Tailte Éireann year on year. In combination with the challenges in recruitment that have existed for some time, this has unfortunately contributed to an accumulation of applications for registration. I outlined in my initial response the steps Tailte Éireann has taken on recruitment and also the business steps they have taken to reduce application processing times, including trying to make the system …

I thank the Senator for raising this. Under Housing for All, the Government has outlined a commitment to delivering 47,600 new-build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period from 2022 to the end of next year. Our clear focus as a Government is to increase the stock of social housing through new-build projects delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies, AHBs. Under Housing for All, there is provision for 200 social housing acquisitions each year. In 2023, following …

I will certainly feed that back to the Department of housing. It is important we have a decision on this promptly so there is clarity for local authorities. It is the intention of the Minister, Deputy Browne, to ensure there is a Government decision on it. There is a commitment in the new programme for Government to continue the scheme. There were many acquisitions in 2023 and 2024. We now need to see the detail of the programme for 2025. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has engaged extensiv…

I thank Senator Byrne. Congratulations to him on his election and indeed to Senator Brady beside him. It is a great honour to be elected to the Seanad. Both Senators, and Senator Higgins, know better than anyone it is a very difficult election so congratulations to all and best wishes for the term ahead. I thank Senator Byrne for raising this matter. It is important to state the Government and Minister of State for disabilities, Deputy Naughton, are fully committed to providing the necessary services to enable any …

I again thank Senator Byrne. I assure him that, as I have outlined, the Government will continue to work with the HSE to take every step possible to try to ensure the posts are filled. It is not an issue of will or funding; the funding, the desire and the commitment are there. There has not been an expression of interest so far for a couple of those posts I outlined. We want to see the posts filled. It is a particular issue in New Ross. It is also an issue in many other parts of the country, including my own. To ad…

I thank Senator Higgins for raising this important matter to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. There is a particular focus on simplification and burden reduction at EU level following on from the Letta and Draghi reports published in 2024. The European Council has called for a simplification revolution by ensuring a clear, simple and smart regulatory framework for businesses and drastically reducing administrative, regulatory and reporting burdens, in particular for small and medium enterprises. On…

I will relay the Senator's question, perspective and views as expressed here to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment following from this Commencement matter and the discussion. As I have indicated, we are seeing a particular focus on simplification and burden reduction at EU level with a view to improving EU competitiveness generally and ensuring there are not disproportionate burdens on business, particularly SMEs. That has been articulated in the Letta and Draghi reports as the Senator knows. As part…

It will provide stakeholders with an opportunity to feed into and influence the Commission’s simplification agenda. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will review the content of the omnibus proposal when it is published in the context of improving competitiveness while, importantly, seeking to strike the appropriate balance between providing effective protections for stakeholders and ensuring that the measures to be implemented by companies, and in particular SMEs, are clear, proportionate and, impo…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators for facilitating this important motion and for the increase of the horse and greyhound fund in order to accommodate this year's budget. As we know, both the horse and greyhound racing sectors are particularly important to our rural economy. Both industries received financial support through the horse and greyhound racing fund under section 12 of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. Payments are made from the fund to Horse Racing Ireland and to Rásaíocht Con Éireann. Excheq…

I thank Senators Lombard and Sherlock for their contributions. The point I will make is that both of these are industries with significant employment and this fund is very important to both those industries in underpinning them. Other countries which are in the lead like we are, in particular as regards the horse racing industry, are also underpinned by national funding. In terms of maintaining those 30,000 jobs and maintaining the really important horse racing industry and our place within the global sphere in tha…

The passing of this Bill must be one of the fastest we have done. I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators for the efficiency. I welcome Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan and his guests. It is nice to see them all. I will be travelling down to their part of the country tomorrow with Deputy O'Sullivan. They can leave a cup of coffee for me along the road. I will pick it up later tonight. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House. I thank the Seanadóirí for their time and their contributions on Committee Stage of thi…

I thank the Acting Chairperson and I thank the Seanad for its consideration of the Bill as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny in committee. I thank the Senators for facilitating Second Stage of the Bill being taken here today. As Members will be aware, the current programme for Government includes a commitment to establish as a priority an independent agriculture appeals review panel in legislation and to ensure that the panel includes participants with practical knowledge and experience of farming. I am very ple…