I will relay the Senator's concerns to the Minister. He mentioned the particular issue in my own constituency, where we have been left in a situation where our local authority was not in compliance with the DPC. The Office of Public Works, for which I am responsible, is in a similar situation. I was in both Houses not too long ago, when the OPW was asked to install CCTV on sites where there is vandalism, littering and other things. That is the very same situation. The sooner this is finalised, from many perspective…

I am sure my colleague, the Minister for Justice, will concur with me.

Oh for God’s sake.

Mar Aire Stáit don Ghaeilge agus don Ghaeltacht, fáiltím roimh an deis labhairt sa Dáil le linn Seachtain na Gaeilge faoi chúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta. Is pribhléid dúinn é sa tír seo go bhfuil ár dteanga dhúchais againn. Is cuid dhílis iad ár dteanga, ár dtraidisiúin agus ár gcultúr dár bhféiniúlacht mar Éireannaigh. Ni mór dúinn infheistíocht leanúnach a dhéanamh sa Ghaeilge chun a chinntiú go mbeidh sí á labhairt ag na glúnta atá le teacht. Tá an Rialtas ag tacú go láidir leis an obair atá ar bun maidir le cu…

Aontaím leis an méid atá ráite ag an gCeann Comhairle. Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis na Teachtaí a chuir a gcuid tuairimí ar chúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta i láthair. Baineann roinnt de na tuairimí leis an Aire Oideachais agus roinnt eile leis an Aire Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitúil agus Oidhreachta, ach seolfaidh mé na pointí sin chuig mo chomhghleacaithe. Cuirfidh mé féin agus mo Roinn na pointí éagsúla sin san áireamh sa phleanáil don tréimhse romhainn. Labhróidh mé ar feadh cúpla nóiméad ar ghnéithe tábhachtacha eile …

Mar Aire Stáit don Ghaeilge agus don Ghaeltacht, fáiltím roimh an deis labhairt sa Seanad le linn Seachtain na Gaeilge faoi chúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta. Is pribhléid dúinn é sa tír seo go bhfuil ár dteanga dhúchais againn. Tá ár dteanga, ár dtraidisiúin agus ár gcultúr i gceartlár an phobail anseo in Éirinn. Ni mór dúinn infheistíocht leanúnach a dhéanamh sa Ghaeilge chun a chinntiú go mbeidh sí á labhairt ag na glúnta atá le teacht. Tá an Rialtas ag tacú go láidir leis an obair atá ar bun maidir le cur chun ci…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Aontaím leis an Seanadóir Malcolm Byrne. Níl mo chuid Gaeilge líofa ach an oiread ach déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall ar son na teanga agus ar son mhuintir na Gaeltachta. B'fhéidir go mbeidh seans agam teacht ar ais, a Chathaoirligh, chun an díospóireacht seo a phlé leis na Seanadóirí tri mheán na Gaeilge. Tá súil agam go dtarlóidh sé sin chomh luath agus is féidir.

Tá caomhnú agus cosaint an Bhlascaoid Mhóir fós ríthábhachtach d’Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí. Tá feabhsaithe beartaithe ag an oifig don séasúr atá le teacht i mbliana agus cinnteoidh sé sin go bhfuil rochtain shábháilte ag cuairteoirí. Cuirfear tús arís le seirbhísí báid do chuairteoirí i mí Aibreán 2023, ag braith, dár ndóigh, ar an aimsir áitiúil. Tá Oifig na n-Oibreacha Poiblí ag obair i dtreo comhaontú a thabhairt chun críche le húinéir talún áitiúil chun áiseanna leithris a sholáthar do chuairteoirí agus tá an …

Tuigimid in Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an oileán, ní hamháin d’oidhreacht agus do stair áitiúil iarthar Chiarraí ach de bharr an tsaibhris bithéagsúlachta atá ar an oileán freisin. Ar an ábhar sin, tá sé an-tábhachtach domsa, ní hamháin mar Aire Stáit le freagracht speisialta maidir le hOifig na nOibreacha Poiblí ach freisin mar Aire Stáit na Gaeltachta, dul chun cinn a dhéanamh sna rudaí atá leagtha amach ag an Teachta sa Dáil ar maidin. We will work with Kerry County Council. The fact …

I am reminded that during my last visit to the island with Deputy Griffin, the Dáil on the island was pointed out to me. The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach will be familiar with this too. I then asked about the name of a strand that was within sight and earshot where more than one or two seals were roaring and bawling. The person who was with us said, "Well, we call that the Seanad". Small improvements have been made on the island and hopefully this year people travelling long distances should be able to go to the toilet.…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 117 together. The matter concerning the proposed installation of CCTV at Clare Abbey has been previously raised in discussions with the local authority and local stakeholders and in my presence as well during a visit to the abbey. The deployment of security measures across the national heritage estate is kept under constant review by OPW. Security measures, where deemed necessary, must be proportionate to address a real, pressing and substantial problem. The installation of s…

I thank the Deputies. Returning to Deputy Carey's original comment with respect to County Clare, the OPW has put a fairly big footprint in the county in the past number of years with the work we have done in Cloonlara, Ennis, Springfield, Lahinch and Kilkee on the flood risk side, notwithstanding all of the other issues we have. I acknowledge both Deputies for the support they have given the communities with the engagement that OPW has had, including in places such as Quin. One of the issues that has been raised in…

If that is unparliamentary language, a Cathaoirligh Gníomhaigh, I will-----

With a national monument of this nature, ducting and underground cabling can be quite a difficult issue, especially if it involves high-resolution cameras. There is no power source at that location. Taking all that into consideration, the only commitment I will give is that we will re-engage with Clare County Council and An Garda Síochána on this. If we put up cameras, there needs to be a way to store the information and the use of that information must be in compliance with the laws on data storage. Deputies Carey…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which is of huge importance to our Department and the Government as a whole. The Government has established an interdepartmental group on managing coastal change to scope out an approach to the development of a national co-ordinated and integrated strategy to manage the projected impact of coastal change on our coastal communities, economies, heritage, culture, environment and the land. The inter-departmental group is jointly chaired by the Department of Housing, Local Gov…

Without getting in to the specifics of this issue, Deputies will have heard me say often that the single biggest threat to this country is from the sea. Coastal communities are living in the terrifying situation that we have witnessed in the past number of years where the Atlantic and the south seas unleash unbelievable, horrific amounts of energy on to communities. The damage it causes and the costs associated with that damage are getting worse. We know that. Some parts of the country with sandy soils are especial…

Officials from the OPW, with Cork County Council which is the lead agency for the protection of the bank, were present on the day. I know discussions are continuing. It would be disingenuous for me to say we will be able to protect every acre of land into the future. That is not possible. It is no accident that most people in this country live in coastal communities. It is a settlement strategy which goes back to the Vikings and even further back. Those communities will be in a very vulnerable situation for the nex…

Ta Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí, i gcomhpháirtíocht le Comhairle Contae Chorcaí, ag dul i ngleic go réamhghníomhaíoch leis an rogha is fearr a chur chun cinn le haghaidh scéim faoisimh thuilte inmharthana do Bhaile Bhuirne agus Baile Mhic Íre, a chosnóidh 90 réadmhaoin ó riosca suntasach ó thuilte. Cork County Council, which will act as the lead authority for the scheme, is currently engaging with the Office of Public Works to define the scope of the consultancy brief, after which the procurement of a consultant will…

Níl an OPW ag seasamh siar in aon chor. It would not be unusual for us to appoint local authorities as the lead agents in some schemes and for us to be the lead agents in other areas. In County Limerick, which is my home area, Limerick City and County Council is the lead authority for a number of the schemes we are developing. The OPW leads in some cases. It is not the case that we are stepping backwards. With regard to the wider issue the Deputy raises, reports must be produced on schemes and consultation on and e…

The Deputy is right with regard to households and the impact flooding has on businesses and amenities. The day I visited with the Deputy, I saw first-hand the impact it could have on communities. These communities are leading through a bottom-up approach. They are being supported in no small way by Údarás na Gaeltachta, chomh maith le Roinn na Gaeltachta a bhí in aonach linn nuair a bhíomar ann cúpla seachtain ó shin. The Deputy is right. Any of the temporary measures taken, by their nature, are temporary. We have …