No.

No.

No.

Is féidir liom a dheimhniú don Teachta go bhfuilim ar an eolas maidir le go leor de na ceisteanna atá luaite aige agus go mbím féin agus oifigigh mo Roinne ag caint go minic lenár gcomhghleacaithe i Ranna agus eagrais eile Stáit ina dtaobh agus i dtaobh cinn eile nach iad. Luaim ach go háirithe anseo an coiste stiúrtha do chur i bhfeidhm na straitéise 20 bliain don Ghaeilge agus dhá choiste dháthaobhach, ceann leis an Roinn Oideachais agus ceann eile leis an Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta. Féac…

Tá go leor cruinnithe idir mo Roinn agus na Ranna eile. Mar is eol don Teachta, táimid ag iarraidh an bhunlíne sin a fheabhsú agus na seirbhísí sa Státchóras a neartú ar fud na tíre. Le hachtú an Bhille seo, tá i gceist go ndéanfar deireadh a chur leis na córais scéimeanna teanga agus córas nua a chur i bhfeidhm a bhaineann úsáid as na rialacháin an caighdeán teanga a leagan síos do na comhlachtaí poiblí a thagann faoi scáth an teanga. Tá oifigigh mo Roinne i mbun dréachtú na gcaighdeán seo faoi láthair. Bhíomar ag…

An bhunsprioc atá againn leis an mBille nua ná cinntiú go leanfaidh an tAcht a bheith ina thacaíocht éifeachtach do gach duine ar mian leis nó léi seirbhísí Gaeilge d'ardchaighdeán a fháil ón Stát. Ó mo thaithí féin ag déileáil le pobal na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta agus ón bhfianaise atá ar fáil ó thaighde ó Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga ó na heagrais Ghaeilge agus ó ghrúpaí eile, tá éileamh i measc an phobail go mbeadh seirbhísí ar fáil i nGaeilge. Chun pleanáil a dhéanamh don soláthar scoile agus chun anailís a …

Maidir leis an athbhreithniú atá idir lámha ag Údarás na Gaeltachta ar na córais agus an cur chuige in áit aige faoi láthair i dtaca le cur chun cinn na Gaeilge sna cliantchuideachtaí, tá sé curtha in iúl dom ag an údarás go bhfuil trí chéim san obair athbhreithnithe inmheánach seo. Bhain an chéad chéim le hathbhreithniú ar riachtanais na heagraíochta mar a bhaineann sé le cothú na teanga i gcliantchomhlachtaí agus ar na córais riaracháin agus tuairiscithe inmheánacha atá i bhfeidhm le pleananna teanga a aontú agus…

Mar is eol don Teachta, tá straitéis nua ag Údarás na Gaeltachta chun an Ghaeilge a chothú agus a neartú ar fud na tíre, agus bhí mé i nDún na nGall chun é a fhoilsiú i rith an tsamhraidh. Tríd an mbuiséad nua agus buiséad na bliana seo chugainn, ba mhian leis an údarás an straitéis seo a chur i bhfeidhm. Tá sé i mbun athbhreithnithe agus ag dul trí na céimeanna chun an taighde a dhéanamh faoi láthair. Tá an t-údarás ag iarraidh an taighde seo a chríochnú, chun monatóireacht níos éifeachtaí a dhéanamh, chomh luath …

Mar a dúirt mé, tá sé curtha in iúl dom ag an údarás go bhfuil an chéad chéim críochnaithe den athbhreithniú inmheánach seo ar na córais agus ar an gcur chuige atá i bhfeidhm. Maidir le cur chun cinn na Gaeilge sna cliantchomhlachtaí, mar thoradh ar an gcéad chéim sin, tá sraith moltaí curtha le chéile chun feabhas a chur ar an bpróiseas seo ar fad, ní hamháin chun pleananna teanga a fhorbairt agus a aontú leis na cliantchomhlachtaí, ach chun monatóireachta níos éifeachtaí a dhéanamh orthu. An dara céim atá le glac…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 110, 136, 144, 161 and 181 together. They were asked by Deputies Richmond, O'Connor, Carey and others.

There are, therefore, many opportunities to discover the date. The sports capital and equipment programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. More than 13,000 projects have benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1 billion. On 30 November 2020, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and I announced that a new 2020 r…

I heard what Damien Duff said. One step the FAI has taken is to maximise the number of its applications. In regard to the sports capital and equipment programme, there has been a huge increase in the number of applications from football clubs. Under the large-scale sports infrastructure fund, in which my colleague, Deputy Griffin, was involved, a significant number of football projects were announced under both streams. I acknowledge the Deputy's point on betting. I have had feedback from various sporting organisat…

Record levels of funding, both current and capital, are going into sport this year and did so last year. There is considerable support for our sporting system and it is important to acknowledge that. The sports capital programme will provide significant support for sporting infrastructure and communities throughout the country. If we compare what was allocated in, say, 2005 and 2006 with how we supported our Olympic athletes last year, and taking account of our national sports policy on doubling funding between 201…

Of the capital applications that have been assessed, a significant proportion, of between 40% and 60% in certain counties, have provided insufficient documentation, giving rise to the use of the second-chance facility, and this has an impact on the speed at which we can announce the final allocations. There is an opportunity, therefore, for clubs and sporting organisations to rectify errors, and that will dictate the date on which we announce the final assessments. We are in ongoing engagement with the Minister for…

I acknowledge the high number of applications from County Cork, as the Deputy outlined, and accept the point about increasing construction costs. In the case of many existing grantees, there is a gap between their capital allocation and the impact of increasing constructions costs. As for what we can do now for existing applications and those who will receive a grant, we must maximise the allocation in order that the funding gap for clubs will be as low as possible. That will be dictated by the quality of the appli…

I thank the Deputy for his remarks. A process is under way in respect of applications. As I said, between 40% and 60% of applications will require a second-chance opportunity in cases where insufficient documentation may have been supplied or there were errors. Applicants in such situations will have that opportunity. A percentage of applications in every round will not provide the required documentation or will be unable to do so, and that will have a consequent effect on the net overall request. Equally, a certai…

I agree that the programme thus far has transformed the sporting landscape, with the improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities in virtually every village, town and city. It has funded the smallest clubs in rural areas all the way up to national centres of sporting excellence, and everything in between. Another important element is that many clubs and organisations are now submitting joint applications, such as between clubs and schools. Those applications maximise the use of the investment bec…

I am not going to speculate on this issue. The increase is quite open-ended, let me put it that way. As the Deputy will be aware, sports capital funding is allocated on a multi-year basis. Therefore, we are not only negotiating funding for next year but for subsequent years as well. We are calculating what the potential drawdown will be overall and what the capital allocation will be under particular subheadings. This is not about securing a certain amount for next year, therefore, but for many years, and that proc…

There were many questions in that contribution. The programme for Government contains a commitment to running the sports capital and equipment programme regularly. We have not set a date for when the next round will be, but that commitment is in the programme for Government and it is also referred to in the national development plan, NDP. Turning back to the current programme, it will take some weeks to try to assess what the net request to be made will be. I am hopeful that it will be done by the end of the year, …

Letters of allocation for the equipment-only awards were sent to all grantees. They were all encouraged to draw down funding before the end of the year. All staff in the sports capital division have been prioritising the effort to pay out existing grants. We are all involved in different sporting clubs and organisations so we know that fundraising has been difficult. The Department is prioritising those matters, working with clubs. That was in the formal note to all the equipment-only grantees and the Department is…