I want to get the details of the tractor the Deputy is referring to because that would be a fair old tractor no matter where you are coming from. Without being flippant, the Deputy is right. The Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan is important. As he knows, the Government is very much committed to rural Ireland. This year's all-island strategic rail review made 33 strategic recommendations, which include a proposal to reinstate the western rail corridor with a connection between Athenry and Claremorris. In addit…

I thank Deputy Lawless and remind him that the Government has invested €84 million in the rural transport programme. Some €116 million has been allocated to regular rural services. In addition, €40 million has been allocated to new services including new town services under Connecting Ireland and BusConnects. There has been success in rural transport. Some 70% of those living outside our cities will have access to public transport services providing at least three return trips to a nearby town each weekday. I take …

I thank the Members of the House for participating in these wonderful statements on our national social enterprise policy. I pay tribute to those involved in social enterprises across our country. As Minister of State at the Department of community development, I am very conscious of the work that is being done. I am delighted to be here today to speak on this important policy, which was launched in 2024 and is in keeping with programme for Government commitments. Social enterprise has the objective of achieving a …

I thank Members for their contributions. Deputy Nolan is right that we must support social enterprises. That is the fundamental point and it is what I will do as Minister of State. Deputy Donnelly spoke about Rethink Ireland. It was formerly Social Innovation Fund Ireland, SIFI, which was established by the then Government in 2012 to set up a €100 million fund in collaboration with philanthropists. Its establishment was a commitment on foot of a recommendation in the report of the Forum for Philanthropy and Fundrai…

The Deputy was well able to use social media to support the all-Ireland semi-finalists last week.

I begin by thanking the Minister, Deputy Foley, for her leadership and stewardship of the Department. Her last remarks clarify her position in terms of her commitment to equality. I thank her for that. I also pay tribute to the former Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, who is in the House this afternoon, for his leadership and courage as a Minister, but also for going to Budapest Pride. He sent a clear message on behalf of us all about the need for strong leadership. I thank him for that and déanaim comhghairdeas l…

Cuirim fáilte roimh cuairteoirí an Teachta Neville. Ar an gcéad dul síos ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil agus comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis na Seanadóirí a bhí páirteach sa díospóireacht faoin gcóras iompar poiblí agus earnáil na heitlíochta. Díospóireacht an-tábhachtach agus láidir a bhí ann ar mhaithe leis na ceantair ar fad. Tá an ceart ach go háirithe ag an Seanadóir Ó Céilleachair that the national development plan is the roadmap of travel and the trajectory we are going to be on. Therefore, it is imper…

I thank the Deputy for her question. Community wealth building is, indeed, a long-standing commitment of the Deputy and her party. As she knows well, the concept refers to a range of approaches to local economic development. While the Department under the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and me does not have a dedicated community wealth building fund as such, our wide range of policies and funding programmes provide support for local economic development and community-led local development in line with many of the princi…

I thank the Deputy. If we look at the example and model we have here in SICAP, which is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention, it supports communities. I am well aware of Cleveland and Preston. I am not aware of the Ayrshire model and would be happy to discuss that further. I have looked at Cleveland’s model in particular. To give the House an example, €48.9 million in funding was invested in SICAP this year. I remind Members of the House that the place-based leadership programme under SICAP leads to …

As the Deputy knows, the Department is progressing a number of initiatives and policies that provide both urban and rural regeneration through an integrated strategic way of delivering supports, programme schemes and co-ordinating measures to address social disadvantage and imbalance in our communities or, in some cases, a lack of opportunity. I gave the example of the national policy on social enterprise, the strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland. We are working to develop new policies,…

I thank the Deputy for his continuing support for our national library programme. When we served together in the Seanad, he was a strong advocate for library services. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I, as Minister of State with responsibility for libraries, are investing in our library services. They are a key priority for both of us and for the Department and that is reflected in the public library strategy. It is an ambitious, forward-looking strategy and one of its key commitments is the delivery of a librar…

I look forward to visiting the library with Deputy Wall. Just to assure him, the project has received funding of €3 million under the capital programme to support what is a very ambitious and exciting plan for the county library in Newbridge, including archives and a cultural centre. The project will be superb in terms of its size and scale. It will be 2,378 sq. m. It will be four times larger than the existing library in Newbridge and will provide an opportunity to showcase the library service in the county. As th…

Since 2020, our Department has allocated Kildare County Council €11.1 million for the public library service, be it the library service to Clane or the mobile library service. It is a testament to the vision of Kildare County Council in terms of its recognition of the importance of our library service. This is maybe tongue in cheek, but perhaps the Tailteann Cup can be showcased in the new library as well. I wish Kildare every success over the weekend. It is important we in the Department work with the county counc…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter and he is right that it is a recurring theme when we speak to people who are very committed to the work they do. The Government's five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector, Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, was published six years ago. It is a whole-of-government strategy, led by our Department and it has been implemented collaboratively over the last five years in partnership with the sector. Last week, I announced the…

I am committed to continuing to provide supports to the community and voluntary sector. I am not absolving us from any role here but our Department does not set terms and conditions of pay. We are very much of the view that it is about supporting the community and voluntary sector. My priority is to create an environment where the sector can thrive, that is enabling and empowering, and that is building capacity and strengthening the sector. I am very much aware of the needs and concerns expressed and the reality so…

To be fair, we are aware of and are very cognisant of the challenges in the sector. I reiterate that it would be inappropriate for our Department to be involved in the setting of pay and conditions, while recognising the importance of the sector and the brilliant work being done. What we are committed to doing and what we will do is to look into an estimated time to boost the budget for the Department but also recognising that the conditions of employment, the whole issue of training and upskilling is part of what …

I thank the Deputy. Our Department's social inclusion and community activation programme is our country’s primary social inclusion programme. SICAP is a national programme delivered locally in both rural and urban areas by local development companies. It supports those in the greatest need to address high and persistent levels of deprivation through targeted, locally-led initiatives and approaches. The programme encourages partnerships between people, community organisations, and public sector agencies to address d…

I thank the Deputy who is right to raise this matter. He has raised it previously. I have asked the Department to examine this issue. The Irish Examiner recently had an interesting profile of the north side of Cork city. It is an issue I am concerned about. We need to have a serious conversation about it. The Glen Resource Centre has a good programme for the families of those in prison. It has held a summer camp in the past few weeks. I am happy to sit down and discuss this with the Deputy because it is an importan…

I thank the Deputy for the work he has done. I taught in St. Aidan's Community College; I am familiar with the area. I recognise the issue he has highlighted, despite the great work by a variety of community organisations and mentoring. There is an empowerment piece, training, retraining and engagement between agencies. There are a number of people who re-offend once they leave prison. We have an obligation, duty and responsibility to work with everybody to ensure those people and their families are given that oppo…

The public library strategy was published in July 2023. It contains 66 actions which will enable our public libraries to become multipurpose social and educational spaces for all members of the community to enjoy. As I said in response to a previous last question, our libraries are now transformed into places of community activity. They are no longer just for reading and studying; there are men's sheds, women's sheds and different varieties of activities going on there. The libraries development committee, comprisi…