Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an cheist thábhachtach seo. Leaving certificate examinable physical education, PE, was launched on a phased basis in 2018 and was introduced at that point in 64 secondary schools. This was the first time PE was recognised as an examinable subject for State certification purposes. The subject has been very well received, with 404 post-primary schools now offering the subject. There are ten topics set out under two strands in the leaving certificate PE specification. Strand 1 …

The NCCA process I mentioned is independent. I encourage people who are interested to engage with it. It would be great to see golf as fully part of the leaving certificate. We will host the Ryder Cup in 2027. Significant Government funding is going towards that. As well as the tourism and economic benefits of these events, I am keen that there be a sporting participation benefit. I have met with golf clubs and Golf Ireland, and have tried to encourage them to get more involved with schools. I was encouraged by the…

I am very happy to let the NCCA do its process, which is independent, but I am keen to expand participation in all sports. That means encouraging our young people to take part in the sport of their choice. Last weekend, I was at the rugby. This weekend, I will be meeting with some GAA organisations. Last week, I met the baton twirlers-----

-----which is a recognised sport. I know Deputy Ó Ríordáin thinks soccer is the only sport-----

-----but baton twirling is a fully recognised sport. The Deputy thinks there is only one sport.

There are a range of sports. If we are serious about getting people to participate in sport, every single sport has to be used to encourage participation and get those numbers up to 60% of the adult population participating in sport. Golf is very much part of that. From what I saw in Youghal, and from what Deputy O'Connor discussed with me regarding the local golf club, we can have a situation where golf is accessible to children and young people in school. In my view, it can be very much part of the leaving certif…

Déanaim comhbhrón ó chroí le clann John Bruton, lena bhean chéile, Finola, le Matthew, le Juliana, le hEmily, le Mary-Elizabeth, lena dheirfiúr Mary agus lenár gcomhghleacaí Richard freisin. I express my deepest sympathies on behalf of my party in Meath to John's family, his wife, Finola, Matthew, Juliana, Emily, Mary-Elizabeth, Mary and our esteemed colleague Richard. John was a proud local Dunboyne man who served his community, country and the European Union as Taoiseach, Minister, EU ambassador and a local TD. A…

I apologise for the Minister for Finance, Deputy McGrath, who is in the Dáil at the moment. I welcome the opportunity to address the Seanad on the Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023. It goes without saying that support must be given to the people of Ukraine as they continue to suffer almost two years into this illegal war. Through this Bill, the Government is seeking to contribute to instruments of financial support through the European Union…

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy McGrath, I thank Senators for their contributions and full engagement today on the Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. It is a very strong signal of Ireland’s commitment to Ukraine and to ensuring it has the necessary resources to adequately support its ongoing hardship and future reconstruction. Many Members of the Oireachtas have visited Ukraine since the invasion and have seen at first hand the devastation and …

As Minister of State for sport, I will join in that, a Chathaoirligh, if that is okay. Charlie has made a huge contribution over many decades. He refereed matches that my father played in the League of Ireland in the sixties and continued refereeing at the highest level. He was involved in leagues and, most famously, as a kit man during the football era that probably all of us grew up in, including Italia 90, and he became very famous. To this day, he continues to have an active role in football and the FAI and att…

I recognise the importance of sport and physical activity for the health and well-being of our society and our people and the need to ensure that opportunities are in place to allow everybody to participate in sport. In budget 2024, we announced an overall budget allocation of €183 million for sport in 2024. This is an increase of 5% on the 2023 allocation. The 2024 allocation for Sport Ireland will deliver an increase of over €7 million in its budget, bringing it to €106.7 million. This level of Government funding…

There is no doubt that we are prioritising the funding of sports facilities through the LSSIF, through the sports capital and equipment programme and through our general funding to Sport Ireland as well. We aim to ensure that a wide range of sports are provided for across the entire country. That has been evident from the work we have done to date. We want to promote our elites to ensure that they can participate, compete and achieve at the highest possible levels, but we also need to ensure that our participation …

There have been significant supports to sporting organisations during Covid. There have been general Covid supports. There have been energy supports as well in the context of the price rises that happened after Covid. In terms of sports capital funding, one could apply for existing projects up to the existing limits in the previous sports capital round to cover the costs of inflation. Quite a number of the large-scale projects did not get off the ground as well, because of construction inflation mainly and because …

In terms of sport, our number one aim is to have more participation. While we do not get involved in the internal GAA discussions on hurling in individual counties, the way the competitions work or who can take part, our overriding aim in funding sports bodies is to have more participation. I note that a decision is upcoming which the counties concerned will be satisfied with. I welcome that as I think it is very important to protect hurling and to protect those players. I was at the GAA champions awards and it was…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a chur ag tús an tseisiúin inniu. The Minister for Transport, who is unable to be present, has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conj…

I will certainly say that to the Minister for Transport. He does tell me though that the belief is that the need for lay-bys has reduced due to the increase in the provision of service areas. Road safety inspections, carried out in accordance with the road infrastructure safety management directive, have highlighted lay-bys as an area of concern on safety grounds. I understand TII undertook usage monitoring surveys at various lay-bys and these surveys indicated that there was significant usage of lay-bys by HGVs. T…

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir as an ábhar seo a chur faoi bhráid an tSeanaid. We know that vacancies arise on a daily basis in the approximately 146,000 social homes owned by local authorities. It is critical to the Government and Members of this House that such homes are refurbished and re-let to a family or individual on the waiting list as soon as possible. Notwithstanding the legal obligation on local authorities under the relevant Housing Acts to manage and maintain their housing sto…

Since taking office, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Government have embarked on the largest voids programme ever undertaken. Funding was granted for 3,607 voids in 2020, 2,425 voids in 2021 and 2,307 voids in 2022. The target for this year is 2,300 voids. The funding provided has tackled a large number of long-term vacant stock and brought them thankfully back into use. It has enabled local authorities to get on top of the issue and pave the way for a transition to a radically different approach to l…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir. As the Senator will be aware, the Department provides funding for water services in rural Ireland where no Uisce Éireann services are available. The Department's multi-annual rural water programme uses Exchequer funding to deliver improvements to water services in rural Ireland. As part of the funding provided, the Department currently has three separate grant schemes available to households for domestic wastewater treatment systems, known as septic tanks. These grant schemes are…

In making these improvements to the scheme, it is hoped to encourage more householders to avail of the funding available. This will help to reduce the risk of negative environmental impacts from defective septic tanks. The changes come into effect on 1 January 2024 and it is expected that the improvements made will result in more applications for septic tank grants in 2024 and beyond.