I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Before I call Senator Byrne, I welcome Ciara Bree to the Seanad Chamber. She is a transition year student from St. Dominic's College in Cabra and is contributing to work in the office of Senator Patricia Stephenson.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, for coming to answer my question. Last Monday, the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, attended Limerick for the redevelopment of Opera Square and the rejuvenation of the city centre. We had the signing of the contract for the new OPW building and the opening of the second building to do with Opera Square, which was a really positive day, because businesses are looking to move into the city centre and to operate there.

The one thing we are lacking is that when this redevelopment started, our library, which was in the city centre, was closed down. I know there is an application with the Department for the provision of a new library for Limerick. Around the country are libraries which are at such a high standard, whereas we had the traditional type of library in the city centre. Libraries are all about learning and education. So much use is made of them now, including audiobooks and lectures. I am determined that we will deliver a new library for Limerick. I would like an update about it.

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I know is dear to her heart. She has raised it on a number of occasions. As she is aware, the provision of library services, including buildings, is primarily a matter for local authorities in their capacity as library authorities under the Local Government Act. Limerick City and County Council initially applied for funding of €5 million from the former Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government's libraries capital programme, which ran from 2016 to 2022. A maximum of €2 million in funding towards the proposed library development was approved by that Department in 2016.

A condition of funding for projects approved under the libraries capital programme is that all library development projects, including the proposed Limerick city library, must comply with the Department's four-stage capital management process. This process, as I know the Senator is aware, seeks to incorporate both the infrastructure guidelines and capital works management framework requirements. In April 2024, the Department issued stage 2 pre-statutory approval for the design and cost plan for the project and in June 2025, Limerick City and County Council completed the tender process, which aligns with stage 3 pre-tender approval. The final stage 4 approval to award the contract application is currently undergoing technical assessment by the housing advisory unit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and by the libraries development section in the Local Government Management Agency. Following receipt of the relevant technical reports, officials in the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht will review all documentation from a policy perspective, and a stage 4 decision letter will be issued to Limerick City and County Council.

In August 2018, the cost of the library was initially estimated to be €27 million. In June 2023, Limerick City and County Council applied for funding for the Limerick city library under the libraries capital programme. That application was unsuccessful as the maximum grant available at that time was €3 million per library project approved. The application sought funding support from the Exchequer of €37 million, with the council proposing to provide matching funds of €12.4 million. The Senator will appreciate that Limerick City and County Council is fully cognisant of the €2 million funding allocation for Limerick city library under the library capital programme throughout all project stages, and it would not be possible to provide any further funding capital in respect of this project due to the limited funds in the library project. I am advised the project was included in the multi-sectoral submission from Limerick City and County Council to the national development plan review process in May 2025, where the council sought funding of €50 million for the library element of the Opera Square development, which the Senator mentioned in her contribution. However, I note that there is no specific reference to the project in the national development plan review published by Government in July 2025.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has confirmed that urban regeneration and development funding of €41.9 million has been allocated to the overall Opera Square site development project, with €5.9 million being allocated to project 4, which includes the library. However, there is obviously still a significant shortfall of funding to ensure completion of the project. The current libraries capital programme for 2023 to 2027 is investing €22.6 million in 11 state-of-the-art infrastructure projects and a further €2.6 million in 12 next-generation mobile library vehicles. The programme is fully committed and there is no scope to provide any additional further capital commitment in respect of the project.

I realise and understand where the Department is coming from but I am disappointed because I think libraries are about our future and the future of our children. They are about education. The city is going through redevelopment. There was so much dereliction and so many closed-up buildings. Seeing that part of the city being rejuvenated, I really believed that the Department may have looked at delivering the future education of our children.

I know that funding sometimes comes from the Department of rural development, so possibly that is where I need to go next. If the Department has any guidelines as to where we can go next in relation to this, the Minister of State might come back to me with that.

I acknowledge what I know is the Senator's tremendous contribution to Limerick and to the redevelopment project within it. It is a city we both know. Her work as a public representative in the area is vitally important and is fully acknowledged. It is also important to acknowledge, as she mentioned, the funding that has gone in from the Office of Public Works for the regeneration work that is taking place right across the board within Limerick. Obviously, there are additional areas I am sure the Senator will explore on behalf of her constituents to try to seek additional funding in this regard. I will convey the strength of her feeling and remarks to the Minister in relation to this.