We funded 59 projects in Galway since 2020 under ORIS with an investment of €4.944 million. There are some really good ones, including the Creggs mountain walk and the Glinsk Heritage Park, which are two really good examples. In relation to the LIS, since 2020 we have funded 195 roads in Galway, an investment of €10.04 million. That is money well spent. As regards ORIS, one of the few good things to come out of Covid was that people embraced the outdoors and, more importantly, their local outdoors. We see it in the…

Le bheith soiléir, tá mé chun an cheist a fhreagairt as Béarla-----

-----ionas nach mbeidh botún san eolas. My Department provides a subsidy under scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge which is payable to qualifying Gaeltacht households providing accommodation for those attending an Irish course in any of the 40 or so Irish-language colleges that operate under the scheme. The scheme was established over 50 years ago in order to foster language acquisition and enrichment opportunities in the Gaeltacht outside of the education system for learners of the language. The sector caters to a br…

Absolutely. I want students to learn Irish and to enjoy the experience of attending a summer college. Tá scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge bunaithe ar dhaltaí ag dul go dtí an Ghaeltacht chun taithí foghlama agus taithí chónaithe sa Ghaeltacht a fháil. Tá sé tábhachtach go bhfuil an Roinn oideachais páirteach sa phróiseas seo. The Department of education plays a very strong role in this. Generally, scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge involves courses that are outside the school year. I think the Deputy may be talking a…

Iarraim ar an Teachta na sonraí a chur chugam. Tá sé tábhachtach go mbaineann gach aon rud laistigh den scoilbhliain leis an Roinn oideachais. Nuair atá sé taobh amuigh den scoilbhliain, tá seans againn é a phlé. When it is inside the existing school year, the Department of education, I think we all agree, must have approval over that. We will work with everyone. If the Deputy wants to send me on the details, I ask him to do so based on that principle-----

-----that anything within the school year is a matter for the Department of education initially, and if it approves, then we will examine it. Tá scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge thar a bheith tábhachtach. Tá méadú mór déanta agam agus scéim nua agam an tseachtain seo le cinntiú go mbeidh daoine a bhí sa scéim roimh 2019 in ann leapacha agus mattresses nua a fháil ionas go mbeidh siad ullmhaithe don chéad bhliain eile agus daltaí eile le teacht go dtí a dtithe. Gabhaim buíochas leis na clanna, na mná tí agus fir tí …

As the Deputy knows, the LEADER programme is a multi-annual funding programme. It is cofinanced by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. The current LEADER programme is operational across the country as we speak, with total funding of €180 million allocated across local action groups to cover the period 2023 to 2027. When considering LEADER allocations for the post-2027 period, as the Deputy has discussed, the development of the post-2027 CAP and the new regional and national partnershi…

Absolutely. Since 1991, LEADER companies around the country have made a huge difference. LEADER projects have made a massive difference. It was the former Tánaiste and former Commissioner, Ray McSharry, and the former Minister of State and MEP Mark Killilea. Ireland's fingerprints are very much associated with LEADER and the success of LEADER to date. I will be working to ensure our LEADER funding going forward. There is going to be a very different EU funding environment post 2027 but we will have to work to prote…

I thank the Deputy. The emergence of men’s sheds and women's sheds has been an enormously positive development for communities across Ireland. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are fully committed to supporting men's and women's sheds in the valuable work they do. My Department provides funding to men's and women’s sheds under various supports, including the local enhancement programme, the social inclusion and community activation programme and LEADER. Men’s and women's sheds can apply individually for…

Through the scheme to support national organisations, we do support the IMSA in its infrastructure and scaffolding so that it can distribute the funding. I have commitments and responsibilities in terms of the expenditure of money. I have to be sure the money is spent properly and appropriately and so, when we engage in multi-annual funding with any organisation, it is important for us to ensure it gets to the people we want it to get to. The Minister of State and I have spent a huge amount of our time engaging wit…

Certainty is in what we have given to date. Funding has been provided over a number of years. There is certainty through the scheme to support national organisations and that gives the backup for the infrastructure. We work very closely with the IMSA. It has just finished a consultation process with local men's sheds as to what it will be looking for grant-wise. We want that process to be completed so that we will be in a position to fund them to get the money out to the local sheds. We are also putting money into …

Gabhaim buíochas le Sinn Féin as ucht an seans cúrsaí míchumais a phlé anocht. I am not opposing the motion put forward by Sinn Féin this evening, but we will take the opportunity to discuss these important issues and lay out much of the work we are doing. We recognise, and it is not exclusive to the Opposition, the additional cost that disabled people face in their daily lives. We are committed to addressing the cost of disability in a comprehensive, but also permanent and sustainable, way. Our determination to ad…

I thank Senator Nelson Murray for raising this issue. Given that so many people in County Meath have roots in County Mayo, it is inevitable that there would be strong women there. It is important that the Senator has raised this matter today. The importance of high-quality accessible spaces for community groups is beyond doubt. As the Senator said, we have all witnessed the massive contribution of the men's shed movement, and now the women’s shed movement. Is there any family out there that has not needed or will n…

I thank Senator Nelson Murray. I endorse everything she has said. Fundraising is important. It is very hard work, but it makes an important contribution, financially and otherwise. If a community buys into a project through fundraising, it will succeed. Speaking of fundraising, it would be wrong of me not to wish our colleague, Senator Costello, every success as she takes to the stage next weekend in her lip-sync fundraiser. I wish the Senator good luck with that. We are working on the structure for the national wo…

It is obvious that the budget is getting the interest of all the parties of the House. I am proud to be able to serve in Cabinet and to present my first budget as Minister for Social Protection and for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. I will deal with each Department separately within my speaking allocation. In the Department of Social Protection, we have secured almost €29 billion in funding for the Department for 2026. Over €1.15 billion of that is for new measures. Before I go through the new m…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht an t-ábhar seo a chur liom. As she will know, the Taoiseach has made it clear that tackling child poverty and homelessness are key priorities for this Government. It is a focus for budget 2026. Our negotiations are ongoing and all will be made available next Tuesday at 1 p.m. Our programme for Government commitments in relation to child poverty reflect this overall determination and we recently published a new child poverty target to guide this work. The target of 3% or le…

Ultimately, it is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is also important to reflect on the fact that the Government, since we came to office, established the child poverty and well-being programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach and is at the heart of the Government, with cross-departmental responsibilities. The office is currently working on a dashboard which will enable us all to measure progress. Rather than the siloed way of doing things, the dashboard will be able …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Quaide as na Social Democrats as an rún seo inniu. Ní bheimid ag cur i gcoinne an rúin. We will not be opposing the motion put forward by Deputy Quaide and the Social Democrats. I welcome the opportunity the motion gives us to discuss the very important issue of carers' supports that are provided by my Department. The motion is timely and I welcome in particular the focus given by Deputy Cummins to the educational aspect. That issue was raised with the Department in June during the …

I join in the good wishes and wish Senator O'Donovan health and happiness. He will be very interested in auto-enrolment. The Government has prioritised the introduction of an automatic enrolment retirement savings system. It will be known by its brand name My Future Fund. It is a key reform commitment to support workers and a key priority for me personally as Minister for Social Protection. The scheme is necessary to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland. It is estimated that only 35% of private s…

I thank all the Senators for their inputs this evening. I join with Senator O'Donovan and, indeed, all of the Senators in paying my tribute and my respect to former councillor, Patrick Gerard Murphy, on his passing. I express my sympathies. He was a brilliant representative, a courageous man and somebody who always had the good of Cork at his heart. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. I have a very long script, full of technical stuff. I will try to deal with some of the queries and revert to the Senators. I thank Senator…