The Government is facilitating the request and believes we should proceed on that basis.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, or the Order of the Dáil of 10th September, 2020, and unless the Dáil shall otherwise order, the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the sittings of the Dáil on 13th, 14th and 15th October, 2020: (1) (i) the Dáil shall meet at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday; (ii) on Wednesday, the Dáil shall adjourn not later than 10 p.m.; (iii) on Thursday, the Dáil shall adjourn on the conclusion of topical issues; (iv) the Dáil shall meet…

Nuair a aontaíodh an clár Rialtais i mí an Mheithimh seo caite, tugadh gealltanais i leith na Gaeilge agus gealladh go sonrach go n-achtófar Bille na dTeangacha Oifigiúla (Leasú) 2019 roimh dheireadh na bliana seo. Mar Phríomh-Aoire an Rialtais agus Aire Stáit ar a bhfuil freagracht as an nGaeltacht, cuirim fáilte mhór roimh an deis seo labhairt sa Dáil agus an Bille a chur i láthair. Thug mé cuairt ar Ghaeltacht agus cathair na Gaillimhe le déanaí. Le linn na cuairte sin, chas mé leis an gCoimisinéir Teanga agus p…

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas agus buíochas an Aire le gach Teachta le linn na díospóireachta inniu. Mar atá geallta sa chlár Rialtais, táthar ag iarraidh go mbeidh an Bille achtaithe roimh dheireadh na bliana agus gur Bhille níos láidre a bheidh ann. Maidir le ceist an Teachta Doherty, beimid ag teagmháil leis chun an cheist seo a phlé. Beidh mé ag labhairt le Pat the Cope Gallagher freisin. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an cheist seo an-tábhachtach don Teachta agus do phobal na Gaeltachta i nDún na nGall. Maidir le ceist eile…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sports and the Gaeltacht, pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)( a ) and 181(1).

No.

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Justice pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)(a) and 181(1).

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Justice pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)(a) and 181(1).

No.

No.

I move: That, notwithstanding the Resolution of the Dáil of 10th September, 2020, adopting the report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform entitled ‘Schedule of Dáil sitting week until 22nd October, 2020, and changes to the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business’, unless it resolves or orders otherwise, the Dáil shall meet every Tuesday at 2 p.m.

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that statements and questions and answers on the leaving certificate 2020 calculated grades shall be taken today immediately following a 15-minute sanitisation sos which shall follow the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020 - Second Stage, and the statements and questions and answers shall be confined to a single round which shall not exceed 95 minutes, including ten-minute slots each for the Minister and parties and groups and an additional five-minute slot for …

The Government has dedicated funding for women's sport over many years with considerable Exchequer funding allocated to programmes aimed at encouraging women's active and social participation in sport. I would highlight in this regard the Sport Ireland women in sport programme established in 2005 which has provided funding for sport of more than €20 million to a broad range of programmes aimed at increasing participation of women and girls. I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Federation of Irish Sport 20X20 campa…

I have not read the book yet but I have read many of the articles associated with it. The Deputy is correct in how the funding allocation occurred over many years. To be clear, we will engage seriously with the FAI and Sport Ireland on this. We have seen leadership across many other associations. The programme for Government is specific around targets. The national sports policy asks all national governing bodies to set gender diversity targets and to develop equality action plans. Support will be provided for dedi…

Tennis has shown much leadership in equality, particularly around the majors. It is probably one of the few sports which has shown real equality. I support that as well as those associations in football which are doing that. The promotion of women's participation in sport is a policy priority for the Government and includes women's football. There has been extraordinary participation in soccer by women and girls which I would love to see continue. It is important to recognise that the FAI and its staff have done ex…

I am acutely aware of the difficulties and challenges facing all sporting organisations and clubs, including those in the League of Ireland. Measures introduced by the Government to date which have benefited the sports sector include the temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS, the PUP and a series of enterprise supports. There has been extensive engagement with the sports sector over recent months which has highlighted the significant adverse impact of Covid-19 on all levels of the Irish sporting landscape. The Covid-…

As I referenced, the stimulus package provides a significant amount of support for the FAI. The association, through Sport Ireland, will fund the League of Ireland and many other sporting competitions. The chief executive officer of the FAI, at a meeting of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response, indicated that €3.5 million is required to stage the League of Ireland. Funding provided to the FAI by Sport Ireland is for the non-professional elements of the sport and is broadly aimed at encouraging and creating mo…

We will engage with League of Ireland clubs through the FAI and Sport Ireland. As I said, a significant funding package has been put in place which will be allocated and distributed over the month of October. That is €40 million for the three major sporting bodies. Decisions about how that money is specifically allocated by those sporting organisations is a matter for them but the Minister and I are keen to support the League of Ireland and ensure its continuity. We cannot have a scenario where there is a question …

I have relations in Monaghan and the Minister, Deputy Martin, is from the county. The local authority swimming pool programme, LASPP, provided grant aid towards the capital cost of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools. To date, 52 pools have been completed and three swimming pool projects remain in the LASPP. Exchequer support for any new swimming pool is now being provided by the large scale sports infrastructure fund, LSSIF. It was launched in 2018 to provide Exchequer support for larger spor…

The Deputy has received some local knowledge there. This is a serious issue. Many funding allocations were made at the start of this year under the LSSIF and they are being fed through. We are committed to reviewing progress in 2021 with a view to potentially reopening for applications to include swimming pool projects like that in Carrickmacross, as referred to by the Deputy. We want to reconvene the sports leadership group and we will do that this month. As the Deputy has said, the programme for Government places…