Cybersecurity Policy
7. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a report on the discussion on efforts to tackle hybrid threats and disinformation at the EU General Affairs Council on 11 May 2026. [37994/26]
I ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a report of the discussions and efforts to tackle hybrid threats and disinformation at the EU General Affairs Council on 11 May 2026.
I attended the informal General Affairs Council in Lefkosi, Nicosia, in Cyprus on 11 May. Hybrid threats, of course, including foreign information manipulation and interference, FIMI, represent a serious political and security challenge for the EU and our partners. Ireland continues to work together with our EU counterparts to counter such activities. The work includes implementation of the EU’s hybrid, cyber and foreign information manipulation and interference toolboxes. Together, these provide a range of measures, which enable us to identify, deter, mitigate and respond to disinformation and interference campaigns, including through the imposition of restrictive measures where appropriate. Disinformation, more broadly, is a serious challenge, which must be met with a whole-of-society response. Our national counter disinformation strategy sets out commitments and actions to help counter this complex problem.
At the EU General Affairs Council informal meeting in Cyrus on 11 May we discussed all these issues. At the meeting, EU ministers were joined by the UK Minister for the Constitution and EU Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, MP, which I welcome, for an exchange on efforts to tackle foreign information manipulation and interference. The participation of the UK minister is a recognition of the importance of engaging with close partners on the issue. At the discussions in the informal meeting we focused on EU-UK co-operation on countering FIMI, and we reaffirmed that this is a shared and evolving threat, which requires a coordinated European response. In that context, we welcomed the UK minister, noting the common challenges we face across Europe in tackling threats against the stability, social cohesion and democratic nature of our countries.
We exchange best practice. We focus on how to strengthen co-operation, co-ordinate international efforts and build resilience, including through the European Democracy Shield and the European Centre for Democratic Resilience. We underlined the need to strengthen co-ordination in multilateral forums and to enhance resilience in the digital space.
Responding to hybrid threats and activity is a priority for the Government and for EU partners. During our Presidency, we will work to help the EU in navigating our complex and evolving threat environment and we will work to progress the EU agenda on countering hybrid threats.
I thank the Minister for his response. We frequently underestimate the extent to which as a country we face hybrid threats and cyber threats. There are two areas I want to focus on. One is during our EU Presidency, when we hold events here in Ireland but also when we hold meetings of the European political community. There are also challenges and responsibilities for us, as TDs and Senators. We are at risk of hybrid attacks during the EU Presidency. We have heard at the AI committee the extent to which we are ready. I question whether we are ready for AI-enabled drone attacks during that period. Because of hybrid warfare, there are going to be efforts by malign actors to influence TDs and Senators and it is crucial that we are also aware of efforts to destabilise our political institutions and to influence political opinion.
The Government is committed to delivering a successful Presidency. We continue to engage closely with EU partners and An Garda Síochána as the preparations accelerate. The scale and significance of Presidency events that are planned to take place in Ireland mean that unprecedented security considerations arise, certainly for the European political community meeting. That will be the largest ever meeting of its type in Ireland. The security arrangements that will be put in place will reflect the wider backdrop of a changed EU security landscape and a more complex threat environment.
When we look back to the Presidency of 2004, while I will not say there was a level of informality, the security considerations were nowhere near what they are now. We will see a difference. Work is under way, led by the Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in planning the security and policing requirements. That includes liaising continuously with policing and security partners across the European Union.
I welcome the co-operation between ourselves and our European partners but the Minister of State will be aware that during the Danish Presidency in the second half of last year, we saw a number of efforts by drones to interfere in and disrupt an EU Council meeting. I have no doubt we will see that again by malign actors during our Presidency.
I would also ask - I am really serious about this - about efforts by malign states to influence Oireachtas Members, which will in various ways and through various inducements try to persuade Members of these Houses of the merits or demerits of particular policy proposals. When we talk about neutrality and security, we do not sufficiently engage in issues around what is happening with regard to cyber threats and hybrid threats. I genuinely believe there needs to be a programme of education for Members of these Houses about the potential threats that we individually face.
The Deputy is certainly not wrong. I agree with him. There is huge potential for people to be influenced in an unwitting way in most cases. The test that I always try and put forward is what is in the best interest of this country, not what is in the best interest of a particular ideology.
Counter-drone capability will be very important for events during the Presidency. As the Deputy said, the airport was closed in Denmark during some of their major meetings because of drone activity. Lithuania takes the Presidency after us. Its airports have been closed on occasion because of balloons coming in from Belarus. The question is not whether this would happen, but how we deal with it when something does happen, whether that is drones or hybrid activity.
We are committed to ensuring the State is equipped to counter-threats posed by drones, through a combination of investment in domestic capability and through international partnerships if it is appropriate. An Garda Síochána is responsible for this. It has counter-drone capacity in place in terms of both detection and mitigation. The Garda continues to build capacity. Additional funding has been given by the Government for this as well. The Defence Forces have an important role to play and they are also making significant investments in this.
Passport Services
8. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she intends to open a passport office in the North of Ireland. [37792/26]
It is a busy time of the year for the Passport Office. We had a very good briefing from its officials yesterday. It was very useful. I thank the team for that. They offer an excellent service. There was a lot in the presentation about their ambition for the future with some positive aspects. Given the increased workload they face and the significant percentage of passport applications that come from the Six Counties, it makes sense to have a passport office in Belfast. That is something we have been continually looking for. The logic for it is very clear.
I thank those who attended the briefing yesterday. It was a good discussion and an opportunity to make sure that every Deputy is able to support their constituents, in particular where people need passports quickly for various reasons. I thank all of the team in the Passport Office. Every year the demand increases and there is huge pressure on the staff, so I thank them for the work that they do.
Demand for passports from citizens in Northern Ireland has continued to increase and remain steady. To date in 2026, 12% of all passports that have been issued have been to residents of Northern Ireland. The passport online service offers citizens the ability to apply for passports online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That applies to absolutely everybody, and it is available to 100% of applicants globally, not just on the island. Currently, 96% of all applicants use the passport online service. It is worth noting that just 1% of all passports issue through the public counters. This is a really good statistic because over the years we have been advocating that people apply online. A lot of money and investment has gone into the online system. It is actually quicker and easier to turn around and it is a much more efficient system for everybody no matter where they are applying from.
Last year, 91% of citizens resident in Northern Ireland applied through passport online. I did not have the figure the other evening in committee but since then I have been informed that it has increased to 97% this year. In the first four months of this year, 97% of passport applications from citizens in Northern Ireland were through the online portal.
In December, a new passport assist service launched to support citizens who do not wish to use passport online because we do have a cohort who still perhaps might find it difficult. They might not have somebody to support them or they might not have access to an online system. This is to assist them in making that paper passport application. Citizens can call the dedicated passport assist number as well to receive personalised paper forms along with a bespoke list of documents required that they post back to the passport service through their local post office. This is an all-island service that enhances the paper application route by offering direct assistance to citizens.
There are no plans to open an office in the North. We closed the office that we had in London for the reason that I have outlined: we are moving to a situation where the vast majority of people who apply do so online. Of course we still need to make sure that we offer a counter service for people and that is why the offices in Dublin and Cork will remain open. There are no plans to go beyond that at the moment.
That gives the logic itself, if the Minister is making the case for having physical offices at all, then the same case could be made in terms of the North whether Belfast or somewhere else.
Since the Good Friday Agreement, one of the primary and practical ways in which people who identify as Irish in the North vindicate that right and identity is to apply for an Irish passport. It is the case that increasing numbers of people apply for an Irish passport. It makes sense for people to be able to access this. It is welcome that a huge percentage of applications are online. It is efficient and it is an excellent service. I pay tribute to the staff in the office. We hear excellent reports about people applying and their passport nearly appearing the next day but it would make sense to have an office in the North. It does not necessarily have to be the case that they are only dealing with the counter stuff. If we have an office and the staff are in a position to deal with the counter stuff, that does not mean they could not do some of the back office stuff as well. We talk about the increase in foreign birth registration cases. Perhaps a team in Belfast could take some of that workload. Could some of that work be redistributed to a different office? There are various other aspects of renewing and advancing the service. I ask the Minister to give it further consideration.
I appreciate the points the Deputy made but we have to balance things as well. We have a really efficient office at the moment where we know that so far this year 97% of citizens in the North are applying through the online system. When we look at the overall figures, if 1% is using the counter service, it amounts to 496 - just under 500 citizens - that are using the urgent appointment service and the in-person service.
The argument that the Deputy makes is not around distance because if a person is in Galway and they have to travel to Dublin or Cork, they probably have a longer distance to travel than if they were in the North. However, we also have to look at what we are investing in terms of the overall costs. We have had many discussions on this floor around making sure that anything we invest in is sufficient. For example, if we put up an office, the operational costs for 100 staff or so is estimated to cost approximately €6.8 million per annum. That is potentially for the 469 customers who would be applying and availing of this appointment service in person, so we have to balance all of this out.
We have an Oireachtas line, as I told the Deputy's colleague when I engaged with them this week. We have a line where Deputies and colleagues can deal directly with the service if there are queries that our constituents raise. I am happy to look at whether it or something similar could be made available to colleagues in the North and to see if we can have that direct line. However, this is about making sure that our focus is on prioritising how we can do things more quickly and efficiently, and that there are efficiencies in terms of cost overall, but most importantly that everybody has access to the same type of service on an all-island basis. That is what I am determined and committed to do.
I welcome that last suggestion. It would be very welcome because it can be a challenge for MLAs and MPs in dealing with this. Sometimes they seek assistance through us and sometimes they try to come at it through general inquiries. It makes sense. These are elected representatives who are working on behalf of Irish citizens who have an entitlement to a passport, so it makes sense for them to be able to access that direct line, particularly for challenging cases.
Just as in the Twenty-six Counties in the South, most people in the North will be able to apply online and so on and get it without any difficulties, but there will always be emergency and complicated cases. I welcome the statement the Minister made and perhaps we can explore it further by correspondence because it would be very beneficial.
I am happy to follow up on that. I want to use my time to encourage people, particularly given the time of the year, to check their passports, look at the date and make sure that it is submitted in time. If they are travelling somewhere where they need more than six months, even if it is out by a day, it obviously causes difficulties, so the earlier they can check and apply for a passport, the better. While it has become a really efficient service, if someone is applying for a child for the first time, there are often difficulties and challenges with photos and making sure they can be followed up with An Garda Síochána or the person who signed it. I encourage anyone who is listening and colleagues to let their constituents and those in their counties know that it is really important to apply on time, but we are obviously here to assist and support where that is not possible as well.
Trade Agreements
9. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she will report on the political agreement at the recent EU Foreign Affairs Council to move forward with targeted sanctions vis-à-vis extremist settlers and entities supporting settlements in the West Bank. [37999/26]
35. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on the status of the EU-Israel association agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38376/26]
36. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the action she is pursuing at EU level with regard to the growing violence and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38025/26]
44. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she will report on the discussion at the recent EU Foreign Affairs Council of further policy options regarding the West Bank, including trade-related measures concerning the import of products from the settlements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38000/26]
55. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions she has had at EU and UN level regarding the reported escalation of settler violence, forced displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank; the specific measures Ireland is advocating for to ensure accountability under international law; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38374/26]
83. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade considering that Israel is continuously violating international law by breaking the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and escalating violence in the West Bank, as well as attacks on civilians in Lebanon and approval of the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners by the Israeli Parliament, the practical and immediate sanctions against the State of Israel she is considering and proposing to other EU counterparts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38225/26]
I ask the Minister to report on the political agreement at the recent meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council to move forward with targeted sanctions vis-à-vis extremist settlers and entities supporting settlements in the West Bank.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 35, 36, 44, 55 and 83.
As was the case with my previous answer, there are quite a number of different things happening and I want to set things out clearly. From a European perspective and context, I will take the House back to last year. Prior to me coming into this Department and at a time when there was continuing escalating violence in Gaza and there was no end in sight, the Tánaiste, Deputy Harris, advocated for sanctions to be put on the table by the Commission that would suspend the EU-Israel association agreement, with a particular focus on the trade elements of it. We also advocated for sanctions against violent settlers in the West Bank because we have seen over time how violent settlers and the actions they are taking have increased significantly in recent years. They were not voted on at the time. There was a ceasefire even though we know that the ceasefire is not being held and that there are significant issues with it, not least the lack of humanitarian aid that is getting in, but also the fact that hundreds of people have been killed since it started.
We have continued to advocate for sanctions at a European level since then as we are conscious of what continues to happen and what has been happening specifically in the West Bank where cities of literally hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. It is not towns and villages. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.
Since taking up this role in recent months, I have advocated that these sanctions and the proposals by the Commission would be put back on the table. At last week's meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, we did just that. The Commission's proposal from last year was to sanction violent settlers in the West Bank and those who support them, including Ministers within the Israeli Government. The leaders in Hamas who carried out the atrocities that started so much of what we are talking about would also be sanctioned. That was voted on and agreed. It was agreed because of the pressure that we put on but also the fact that Hungary has changed its position. I welcome that, and I hope to see it continue in any future vote. What we have advocated for since then, and what I advocated for at the last Council meeting, is that we would have further votes at the next meeting that will take place in early June.
We also have a second Commission proposal that is still on the table from last year. This is to suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israel association agreement. This is where there is essentially preferential treatment across of all our agreements, including trade agreements, with Israel. If this was suspended, it would be at a cost of billions of euro for the Israeli economy. We have not only clearly asked for this to be put on the table but have also said that we would vote for it.
Along with other colleagues, I have also been advocating for a further proposal by the Commission that would essentially ban trade in the occupied territories in the West Bank. This is in line with what we know should be implemented. We know that these settlements are illegal and that trade with these settlements is illegal, so we want to make sure that Europe responds to this and does so collectively because I believe, and I think we all believe in this House, that this is the strongest way in which we can send a very clear message.
It will also impact the Israeli Government and the actions it has taken. Since we have had these discussions over the past number of months, Israel has not only continued to increase its settlement policy and done so very publicly in the West Bank, but it has also reintroduced the death penalty, which is taking a step hundreds of years back. It has now said that it will have public prosecutions as well as executions. We have all been talking about what has happened in the last few days and seen the way in which Irish citizens and many other countries' citizens have been treated after being illegally detained in international waters. We need to act in unison, and we need Europe to respond, and that is what I have been advocating for.
I want to clarify again that the reason we have advocated for the trade side of things is because this requires qualified majority voting, QMV, in the Parliament. It requires the vote of 55% of member states whereas if we were to propose other possible sanctions, they may require unanimity. We just know - I am sitting around those tables - that there are countries that will not support them. I have been trying to build a consensus so that we will have this vote at the next European Council and Foreign Affairs Council meetings. I have written again and engaged with Kaja Kallas, who is the chair of the Council, to advocate that this will happen, and I hope that member states will support this. We saw the condemnation right across the EU yesterday. There were public comments not just in the EU but also internationally, and I hope that this is a turning point for people, and we can respond collectively.
Separate to that at home, the Government made a clear commitment that it would enact the occupied territories Bill. This Bill was published last summer. The Department and I have been engaging directly with the Attorney General on this. I am saying clearly this morning that I will bring forward the occupied territories Bill. I will publish legislation in the coming weeks, and we will enact this separate to and in parallel with what is happening at a European level. It is important that we agree at a European level to do this, but it is also important that we progress the legislation that we have said we are committed to and we have been working on. We will work collectively with colleagues because that is something that everybody in this House will support. The last few days have shown us that we need to change the behaviour of the Israeli Government.
I want to reassure colleagues that we continue to engage with the Israeli authorities in relation to our citizens. We have 14 citizens who are detained on land in Israel. They, along with the other countries' citizens, are now in a convoy of buses to the airport and they will be deported to Istanbul from there. Our embassy team is on the way to the airport as well to make sure we have direct engagement with them. We have raised in no uncertain terms, as have other member states, the horror and dissatisfaction at the way in which our citizens have been treated. That is why we now need to make sure that these are not just words we are saying. We need to make sure we follow them through with actions at the next European Council and Foreign Affairs Council meetings.
I will also be raising this at the Trade Council this week. It will be the first time that it will be raised at the Trade Council and the vote will then take place at the later Council meetings.
I thank the Minister. I appreciate her comprehensive answer in this regard. I believe that she reflects the views of everybody in this House when she expresses the concerns of Irish people over what has been happening in the West Bank.
I was struck when listening this week to the Catholic Bishop William Shomali, who I understand the Minister met with. He spoke on it and referred to "really nasty" actions on the part of some of the settlers. Their behaviour is, frankly, appalling. He asked where we need to go beyond this. Ultimately it is about how we can secure a lasting peace in Gaza but also in the West Bank, and what we need to do. He spoke very clearly about our peace process here. For individuals like that we must continue to engage with him and support him. I agree with the Minister that the more action we can take at a European level collectively, the more impact it will have.
I welcome the Minister's comment. I listened very carefully to her interview on Monday with Gavan Reilly. It has outlined a process of the Minister's intention regarding where we go in respect of the occupied territories Bill and also at an EU level. This week on Tuesday, a constituent of mine, Mikey Cullen, rang me from the flotilla. Incidentally, he is the third constituent of mine on different flotillas. We agreed and disagreed on different things as he was floating off in the Mediterranean. What is utterly unacceptable is that in what is effectively international waters, Israel can take constituents of mine from a boat, forcibly put them through a process to say that they illegally entered either Israel or Gaza, then humiliate them on video and send them back to Istanbul. I know the Minister rejects that. I know the Government rejects that. The three constituents would tell me that it is nothing in comparison to what the people of Gaza and other people in the West Bank have been through. I ask the Minister to continue to take strong action on this issue.
Just a few days ago every single one of the Irish Global Sumud aid flotilla activists put out a video while they were on the boats, before they were kidnapped, asking the Government to support a sanctions Bill last night. The Government, after issuing statements condemning their kidnapping and abuse at the hands of the violent settler, Itamar Ben-Gvir, trooped in here and voted against a Bill proposing sanctions against the State of Israel, having said just before that there should be no business-as-usual with the Israeli regime. That regime is guilty not just of the abuse of the flotilla activists, which is disgusting and has given us a glimpse of its barbarism, but also the brutality that is inflicted on the Palestinian prisoners who are tortured and abused. There is a genocide in Gaza, there is ethnic cleansing happening, there is apartheid and there is brutal suppression of rights, and the Government voted against imposing sanctions on them when the activists on the flotilla appealed to the Government to vote for it. The Government is gaslighting the Irish public.
I commend those on the Global Sumud flotilla. It is a deep shame that people still have to do that to highlight the absolute criminality, that has not been brought to book, of the Israeli regime. We have all been disgusted by the video of Ben-Gvir, who is obviously a thug, a genocidal criminal and an idiot. When most people commit crimes, they do not actually put them on video. This is a guy who has been accused of being a draft-dodger by brothers in arms and his defence was that he was not allowed in the IDF because of his views. That just tells you. He is only one element of Netanyahu's regime. What are we talking about? The death penalty for Palestinians; genocide in Gaza; ethnic cleansing in Lebanon, which many of our peacekeepers have seen; and the attempt to create enough settlements to destroy any chance of a Palestinian state.
The Ministers said that this is not a time for words alone, so we need to see action. We all want to see consensus, we all want to see co-operation across Europe, but we need to see the occupied territories Bill passed, including goods and services. It is an absolute disgrace that the EU-Israel association agreement is still in operation. What interaction has the Minister had regarding ensuring that there will be delivery, even if only on the trade element?
I thank the Deputies. It is important that it was asked what our longer term objective is. We cannot lose sight of that even though it seems impossible in some ways that a two-state solution would still be a focus and a priority. It has to be. That is why Ireland continues to be actively involved in the global alliance on the two-state solution. That is why I hosted, with others, a conference in Croke Park at the beginning of this year where we explained and set out our own experience of what has happened in the North and how, at times, when it seemed a peace process would be impossible, we worked at it and it is something we are still working on. I discussed with Bishop William Shomali how we are focused on a two-state solution and what that looks like despite all of the complications and difficulties we are in at the moment.
Whether people agree or disagree with the approach taken by the flotilla, I certainly understand why people have taken that approach. People in Ireland feel they want to do something. Many feel they cannot and these types of actions have been taken. I am very clear, whether you agree or disagree with it, that they were illegally detained in international waters. It is completely against the law and that is why I and other countries have, in the strongest terms possible, objected to this. I have raised this at the highest level and I will continue to push for change and response at an EU level. I have been doing that this week and for the last number of weeks.
In terms of the sanctions Bill, an outright blanket ban has no legal basis. Trade is an EU competency. We all know that.
No, we do not. No, we do not. No, we do not.
Trade is an EU competency; we all know this. However, when it comes to the issue-----
The Deputy will have a chance to speak in a minute.
The genocide convention. Read it. Read it. Read the genocide convention.
Deputy Boyd Barrett will have his opportunity in a minute.
If the Deputy does not want to hear the answer, that is fine. Even in the situation in Russia, we do not have the blanket ban that was being proposed on this. Let us be clear on that.
It is rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. Read the genocide convention.
There are unintended consequences for citizens. There are citizens in Israel who do not-----
Read the genocide convention.
We have.
The Minister without interruption, please.
There are citizens in Israel who do not agree with what the Israeli Government is doing. Imposing a blanket ban in the way the Deputy is suggesting, in a way we have not imposed with Russia or any other country, is imposing a blanket ban. It is also an EU competency and that is why we are advocating for the suspension of the EU-Israel trade association agreement at an EU level.
Separately, the occupied territories Bill is specific to the occupied territories. This has already been made very clear in international law and the EU agrees. They are illegally occupied territories. That is why we are pursuing the occupied territories Bill and that is why I will publish legislation in the coming weeks. In tandem with that, we will pursue action at an EU level when it comes to the overall trade association agreement.
We must make sure we do not lose sight of the fact that in Gaza there are still millions of people who are not getting access to appropriate humanitarian aid, food and water. They are not getting the assistance they need. We must focus on the fact that Palestinian authorities still have billions of euro owed to them by the Israeli Government that they are not being given. We have to remain focused on the fact-----
No sanctions. No sanctions.
-----that the second stage of the peace agreement is not progressing because our efforts are focused on all the other conflicts that are happening. I and this Government are, at every step of the way, making sure our focus remains on this while trying to build a consensus as I have just outlined.
I thank the Minister for her response and I think it is the correct approach. We need to start to think about what the ultimate goal is regarding what we are achieving. We all want to achieve peace. There is no disagreement in this House about achieving peace and getting away from the horrors we are facing right now. I was really struck when I listened to some of the interviews with Bishop Shomali where he said it is going to be about bringing the people together including, as the Minister said, many of the people within Israel who object to what the Netanyahu Government is doing. Given our own experience on this island, we can provide very valuable lessons. It is about where we want to see west Asia in the next five years. What is the goal we want to achieve? It is not always about the short-term solution; it is about how we can provide a sustainable peace whereby the peoples who live within that region can work co-operatively. I commend the Minister's approach and believe that co-operating at European level is also essential.
I raised the case of Mikey Cullen and, as I said, there are two other constituents of mine, Robert Murphy and Dougie Douglas, both of whom are out. The wider issue here has been well aired in the House. I agree with many of the points. I want to return to the issue of three constituents of mine who have been taken from a boat in the Mediterranean. There must be a more rigorous process other than us issuing a press release to condemn what has happened to those three constituents and Irish citizens. Each of them would say it is nothing in comparison to what the people of Gaza have been through.
There must be a process where innocent Irish citizens who are going about their business in the world cannot be taken by a third-party state and be detained without any process or be forced to participate in a process to say they illegally entered Israel. Many will say that that is the intention of the flotilla but the point is - and where Israel continuously makes errors - they did not enter into an Israeli-controlled area. They should not have been taken from that boat. The Irish Government must take very strong action against Israel on this and on a whole host of other issues.
Deputy McAuliffe's constituents asked him to vote for the sanctions Bill and he walked in here and voted against it. All of the Irish participants specifically asked their constituency TDs, Government and Opposition, to vote for the sanctions Bill but the Government TDs voted against it. Then they come in here saying there should be sanctions against Israel. That is gaslighting and duplicity which is designed to convey the impression that the Government is going to do something when it has done nothing. It is the impunity that Israel has been extended by our Government and by the EU that emboldens it. They say they can do anything. They can torture people, commit genocide, kidnap people on the high seas, do apartheid, invade Lebanon and bomb Iran and that nobody is going to do anything. So far, they have been proven right because nobody in this Government has done anything. We continue the complicity.
When we talk about the Global Sumud Flotilla and what the Israelis are doing, what is it? It is kidnapping on international waters. This is absolutely illegal but they do not care. They do not care about anything and that is a fact. We always talk about apartheid South Africa and how it took many factors but one of the major ones was that they were taken to task, they were sanctioned and individual South Africans were made to feel like the pariahs of the world. That put pressure on their government and then they could not trade with anybody, so big business said it needed to get out of that circumstance. That is what brought them to the book, so that is why we need to see action, not words. On the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the trade element, what interaction has the Minister had from a point of view of ensuring even that can be delivered? The Minister has given a promise now of a couple of weeks in relation to the occupied territories Bill. We really need to see it. I get that it is not the be-all and the end-all but it is a decent first step and we will be followed by others because they are an absolute disgrace, they are genocidal maniacs and they have to be brought to book, and we have to do whatever we can.
On the EU-Israel Association Agreement, before the last meeting I wrote directly to the High Representative, Kaja Kallas, to ask that this issue be put on the agenda. I engaged with other colleagues who also signed that letter, Spain and Slovenia in particular. While the vote was specifically was on the sanction of violent settlers. I advocated again in the Council meeting with all our colleagues that this would be put to a vote. It was not put to a vote at the last meeting. I have advocated that it be put to a vote as soon as possible, preferably at the next Council meeting, which is in early June. My team has been engaging with other countries to try to build the consensus that there would be a vote and that we would be voting on this but potentially - and it is my preference - that we would also vote on a new proposal that would ban trade in the illegally occupied territories. There are two options here but in relation to this, I have written to the High Representative. This has been shared with all the member states. We discussed it at the last meeting and I am pushing for it to be voted on.
In the conversation I had with Bishop Shomali, he spoke about the increasing violence. As someone who has lived in the region all his life, he spoke about the change he has seen. Actually what struck me was the fact that he spoke about how he works with people from both sides, from Israel and Palestine, and how he sees a hopeful future and how he still sees an opportunity for Israel and Palestine and for the Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side. This gave me a sense that people on the ground still have that hope and that we need to continue to focus on that overall objective and that goal, as difficult as it might seem.
In terms of the flotilla, again, I cannot condemn in any stronger way possible the actions by the Israeli Government in illegally detaining Irish and other citizens in international waters. It is completely against international law. We have stressed this but at this stage the only way we can take firm action is that the EU collectively responds by suspending the trade element of the association agreement and that we move to ban trade in the illegal settlements as well. At home, I have given that clear commitment again. I will bring forward legislation in the coming weeks. There are many people who do not agree with the sanctions Bill that was put forward because it is a blanket ban.
All the Palestinians do-----
I am sorry but-----
-----and all the flotilla activists do.
I have spoken to many people. We do not impose it in any other sanctions regime because-----
We did it with South Africa.
-----there will be unintended consequences for citizens who do not agree with the actions being taken by Israel, Netanyahu or any of those members of the IDF who have breached international law.
Name a single Palestinian against it.
I will work to build that consensus at a European level. I assure Deputies that those who were on the flotilla and who are on their way to the airport will be met by our officials to make sure they are safe and supported.
Trade Promotion
10. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on the Government trade forum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37942/26]
31. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the Government trade forum will next meet; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38378/26]
51. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on the latest Government trade forum meeting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38315/26]
I ask the Minister for an update on the Government trade forum.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 31 and 51 together.
I thank the Deputy for this question. The trade forum has become a vital form of engagement between Government, Departments and Ministers but also important key trading stakeholders during a very uncertain and challenging time for international trade. The information and, importantly, the real-time feedback received from the members is extremely valuable. The Tánaiste established this last year during his time in this role. The intention was to make sure that there was that two-way flow of information, particularly in light of what was happening with the US, and that there was an ability for Government to outline the actions it was taking and for individual Ministers in specific sectors to outline the actions they are taking and for sectors and industry to provide feedback to us. The make up of the committee is reflective of some of our most important sectors and some of our most important relationships, including with the US and the UK chambers. We also have representatives from chambers across Europe.
This is part of a more comprehensive and deliberative approach taken by the Government to make sure that Ireland's continued economic growth is resilient, so that despite all the uncertainty that we continue to focus on economic growth. This approach also includes the national development plan, which was published in recent months. We are moving to implement budget 2026 and we are now starting to talk about budget 2027 and the mutually supportive action plan and market diversification which was a real focus and priority for us, in particular during our visits for St. Patrick's Day this year, where that market diversification focus came through.
Regarding the action plan on competitiveness and productivity, the Deputy will be aware that competitiveness is one of the key overarching themes of our Presidency in the six months ahead. We want to make sure that not just Ireland but the EU as a whole remains competitive and open and are investing in research and innovation. To do that effectively, we need to always be listening to business. That is why this forum is invaluable because we are hearing directly back from those in business and getting their ideas as well as giving them an opportunity to highlight where there are challenges.
Agendas and minutes of the Government trade forum are published on digitalhouseireland.ie. Deputies can see that there is an approved work plan for 2026. We have tried to set out that we have an actual plan and that we are focused on various priorities at the different trade meetings. This year, I have convened three meetings of the forum and the minutes are available on digitalhouseireland.ie. My intention is to maintain that intensity of meetings. While a date has not yet been set, there will be another forum in June. This will give us an opportunity to focus on more key areas.
At the last forum, I was joined by the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance; the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Deputy Chambers; the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Heydon; the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Lawless, and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Byrne. Other Government officials and CEOs from State agencies also attended. This was the 12th meeting we have had. In particular, we reflected on the recent St. Patrick's Day programme, which was the largest in the history of the State. It was welcomed by all of those at the meeting. When we look at the overall figures - not just the number of diaspora we managed to reach, which was really quite substantial but also at the number in the business community - about 6,500 people across the world attended different business events we hosted not just stateside but in South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Australia and Africa. There has been a huge focus on how we can identify more ways to open up trade, to support business to grow and to open up new markets as well.
We also focused on our engagement on our relationship with Canada. Unfortunately, a trade mission had to be postponed but that is a relationship that has grown from strength to strength. As we celebrate ten years of CETA and hope to ratify CETA this year, we can see that investment increasing significantly into the billions every year. There is a real opportunity to do more. In the coming weeks we will welcome further visitors from Canada, which will provide an opportunity to strengthen that relationship.
The EU-US trade relationship is certainly on the agenda of every meeting. I am pleased this week that the EU has agreed the pathway forward for our side of the Turnberry agreement. Before the summer and before we take over the EU Presidency, I hope that we can see significant progress on more areas and the priorities that we want to work closely with the US on. We are working closely with the Commission on issues relating to the agrifood sector, the aviation industry, medtech and other areas to make sure that we can support our industries here. The relationship with the US is strong. Zero tariffs benefit everybody and that is where we would like to get to. Tariffs are not good for business or consumers. We want to work closely with the US to make sure we can reduce tariffs where possible.
The ongoing conflict in the Gulf was a key focus point for the trade forum. It is safe to say that every business, large or small, I have met in the last number of weeks is experiencing the impact of the knock-on implications of what is happening in the Gulf, not least because of the cost of fuel. Of course, the price of commodities has continued to increase because of the conflict in Ukraine and now because of this ongoing conflict in the Gulf. It is important that we understand exactly how these conflicts are impacting sectors and how we can respond and provide supports and services. As the Deputy knows, in the last few weeks the Government has provided €750 million directly to individuals in their homes, but also to businesses to make sure that they continue to be viable and a part of a growing economy in what has been a very challenging and difficult time.
The one thing that comes through from the forum is the demand and need for certainty in a time of uncertainty. That is what we have been striving to achieve, as well as supporting businesses.
I am delighted that the Minister has all the stakeholders involved in the forum and commend the work that has been done. I thank her for her comprehensive response.
In light of what has happened the last 24 hours, I hope she will forgive me for deviating a little from the question. I welcome her and the Taoiseach’s remarks yesterday and again today on the Government's clear and principled position regarding the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, what happened last night and the importance of international law. People from all over the world are disgusted, including Israelis living in Israel and other parts of the world. Ireland has consistently shown leadership internationally on these issues. At a time when many people across Europe are calling for stronger action, it is important that Ireland continues to speak with clarity and moral authority at both EU and international level.
I ask the Minister to provide an update on the Government's current engagement with EU partners on the situation in Gaza and the efforts under way to build a stronger and more united European response. In particular, what role is Ireland playing in advocating for a collective European position, grounded in international law, humanitarianism, protection and accountability?
My focus and priority this week have been ensuring the safety of our citizens who have been on board the flotilla. I am pleased to say that they are now on buses on the way to the airport and that our officials are on their way to the airport, if they are not already there, to assist and support them. We have been strong in condemning the actions of the Israeli Government. As I said earlier, the way in which we can respond effectively and send a very clear message to the Israeli Government that this is not acceptable, and that not just Ireland but the EU as a whole will not accept this kind of behaviour, is by collectively agreeing to suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israel association agreement or indeed the association agreement itself. We should also propose new sanctions that would prohibit trade with Israel in the occupied territories or with settlers in the occupied territories. I have been working on this for some time to try to build a consensus. We need to make sure that this comes to a vote as soon as possible to allow us to respond in that strong collective way.
Like others, I have been looking at the response on the international stage as well. There has been global condemnation of the actions by the individual minister. Again this is symptomatic of a government that continues to take these types of actions, whether it is the reintroduction of the death penalty, public prosecutions and subsequently executions that they are discussing or the consistent blocking of humanitarian aid getting to innocent civilians in Gaza who are really suffering and see no end in sight.
To that effect, at every Foreign Affairs Council meeting I have been at, I have specifically raised the need for more humanitarian aid to be let in. When I travelled to Egypt and to the Gaza crossing in January of this year, my main focus was to meet with those who are delivering the aid to talk to them about the challenges they are facing. It is very clear that blockages have been put in their way every day. The truck heights allowed on one day change the next day and then they have to offload. The types of products allowed in one day changes and they then have to change the truck again. The food that they are allowed to bring in is being left to sit in a warehouse going out of date and then when it is out of date it is not let in. It is unbelievable to think that the actions being taken are being done to prevent food and life-saving treatment from getting in. At the same time, the figures will show that hundreds of trucks are coming in. What it does not say is that it might be a truck full of Nutella or a truck full of goods that are going to be sold that people cannot actually afford. These are the types of actions that we need to continue to highlight and which I am highlighting at the Foreign Affairs Council.
My colleague, the Minister of State, has responsibility for development aid. During our Presidency, one of our core priorities will be values. That means making sure that the values that underpin the European Union and the actions that we take are upheld. That means supporting life-saving organisations like UNRWA and the World Food Programme that are supporting people in Gaza, not pulling back our funding as other countries have done, but actually advocating and building a consensus to make sure the funding is reinstated and increased at a time when it is needed.
I welcome that the Government is continuing to work closely with our European partners to strengthen and unify the European response. We cannot simply stand by and watch what is happening in Gaza. Ireland has led internationally on this issue and was first out of the blocks to condemn it at the start. We should continue to lead within Europe in pushing for a clear and principled response.
I thank the Minister for her strong remarks over the last period in response to what has happened to the people on the peace flotilla. What has happened is disgusting and beyond belief. We must act in unison with our European colleagues and impose trade sanctions on Israel. What discussions are now taking place at EU level regarding possible collective measures, including the examination of sanctions linked to illegal settlements? Is Ireland advocating for stronger co-ordinated action among member states?
I can give the Minister 30 seconds to answer that one.
I engaged directly with colleagues at the most recent Council meeting. We have raised this matter directly with the chair of the Foreign Affairs Council. Since then, I have been advocating and working with colleagues to try to make sure this comes to a vote at the next Council meeting.
Rural Schemes
91. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the role his Department plays in tackling dereliction, vacancy and underuse of buildings in rural towns and villages; the way in which his Department co-ordinates with local authorities and other Departments to ensure town and village renewal funding is linked to housing, transport, community services and local economic development; and if he will consider a more integrated, multi-annual funding model for rural towns and villages. [38128/26]
Will an tAire outline the role the Department plays in tackling dereliction, vacancy and the underuse of buildings in rural towns and villages and the plans he has in that regard? In particular, will he outline the way in which the Department is co-ordinating with local authorities and Departments to ensure that funding is linked to housing, transport and community services?
Is fadhb an-mhór ar fad í seo.
The town centre first policy, for which I and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage hold joint responsibility, is the major cross-government policy. It aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It does so by setting out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of our towns and villages to ensure they are vibrant, viable, visible and happy places to live, work, invest in and visit. Town centre first complements other national policies, including our rural future, the national housing strategy and the national planning framework.
Significant progress has been made. For example, town regeneration officers funded by my Department are based in 26 local authorities. They are a key conduit between the Department, each local authority and towns and villages and the communities that live in them. They work as part of a multidisciplinary team in local authorities to support town regeneration and combat vacancy and dereliction. As was discussed with Deputy Stanley, I encourage Deputy Hearne to visit Laois where he will see a very good model in operation.
A range of capital schemes funded by my Department are crucial to this. The town and village renewal scheme and the rural regeneration development fund have provided growing levels of funding to rural communities in recent years. Our local authorities are working closely with local communities to deliver projects. Funding under these schemes is generally by way of a competitive call for applications. Funding is allocated to successful projects on a multi-annual basis. This is an approach that has worked well in recent years. It ensures high quality and impactful projects are funded in a targeted and strategic manner. We continue to ensure that the funding the Government is investing in rural towns and villages will deliver. I met the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, yesterday regarding the future iteration of our town centre first policy and other investments that we can make.
Is fadhb an-mhór iad na tithe folmha agus tréigthe, agus na foirgnimh thréigthe freisin, i mbailte agus sráidbhailte ar fud na tíre. The State has failed, from Spiddal to Fermoy to Carrick-on-Suir and Loughrea. When driving around the country, I see so many derelict buildings. It is scandalous. It is such a shame for these towns, many of which I have visited. I visit relatives down the country and see this. Dereliction is still visible. The town centre first policy is clearly not working. The policies are not working to address this at the scale needed and to deal with the extent of it. It is just not enough. We still see massive levels of dereliction in villages and towns. This affects many commercial buildings. We in the Social Democrats believe that there needs to be things like compulsory sales orders. These buildings cannot be left for decades.
I disagree with the Deputy. This is another social media statement without any basis. He mentioned Fermoy. We are currently investing €2.2 million in Fermoy to renew the town centre and the Blackwater experience and are working with the local community and development companies. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are involved. The Deputy has to see for himself, or else does not want to see, the level of progress in many rural areas. In Athy, the Shackleton experience is led by the local community, in partnership with Kildare County Council. Old buildings have been renewed and repurposed. I could provide any number of examples under RRDF and the town and village renewal scheme.
We need to examine how can we can expand the town and village renewal scheme. Deputy Currie is in the Chamber. We need to consider how communities and villages in Dublin can be tackled.. The Deputy suggested that there be CPOs, as if that could happen very easily. Many councils are trying to do that. The Deputy understands more than most the property rights in our Constitution, ownership rights and the difficulty of getting access to CPOs. Many councils are doing that through the town regeneration officer. The person is doing the legwork on that necessary work and research. That town regeneration officer is funded by my Department. We cannot just wave a magic wand. Town regeneration officers are doing very hard work on the ground. It is unseen, but is making a difference in towns and villages around the country if one chooses to see it.
I want to respond to the claim about social media clips. That is disingenuous. I do not know whether a memo went around Cabinet to try to suggest calling out the Social Democrats for just doing this for social media. It is very demeaning to an elected Member of the Dáil-----
The Deputy is very touchy about it.
-----to turn around and say he is just doing this for social media. That is very demeaning and disregards the people who have voted for me and us. I am doing this because it is what I know and see. The Minister has pointed to areas that are working and where something has been done. I can point to just as many areas and towns where policy is not working and there are still derelict buildings. Is he denying that there are derelict buildings in towns and villages across the country? Derelict houses and buildings are falling down. What the Government has done is not enough. It is factually correct that there are tens of thousands of derelict buildings, even above shops, that could be homes. The Government will point to where it is doing something, but it is not enough. That is my point.
Over €440 million has been invested in 160 projects through the RRDF since 2020. Many of those projects are now coming to fruition. Some €140 million has been invested in the town and village renewal scheme, which has dealt with 1,000 projects since 2020, owned and driven by local communities and local authorities. Under the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, €110 million has been invested in dereliction, to a lesser extent.
The Deputy has suggested nothing is happening.
I did not say "nothing". I said "not enough".
He has seen tens of thousands of buildings, but he will also see, should he choose to see it, much progress and that things are happening on the ground. We are providing that level of investment through the RRDF and town and village renewal and we want to provide more. We will provide more investment and the Department is focused on that through Our Rural Future. That is why we have invested in our town regeneration officers across the country, who work in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We have people on the ground identifying properties and their ownership and, ideally, working in the first place with local communities to upgrade and repurpose them.
The Minister, Deputy Browne, and Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, are working on guidelines on spaces over shops because that will lead to the ultimate regeneration of towns, namely getting people back living in them and having life in towns after 6 p.m. That is happening on the ground if the Deputy chooses to see it.
Road Network
92. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if there are plans to increase local improvement scheme, LIS, funding in Kerry; the reasons the funding was cut between 2025 and 2026; if he will ensure that funding is increased in budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38220/26]
I want to ask the Minister about the LIS funding scheme, in particular relating to County Kerry. A significant number of roads are on the list. While I appreciate Kerry County Council is doing the best it can, it is only able to address a limited number per year.
I thank the Deputy for his interest in this. As I said in reply to Deputy Stanley, since we introduced the LIS in 2017, over €200 million has been allocated to local authorities. The Minister of State and I confirmed the 2026 scheme will have an additional initial funding application of €17.5 million, representing an increase. Kerry County Council was allocated €1.13 million in initial funding for LIS in 2026, representing an increase in the initial allocation of over €1 million in 2025. Following our announcement of a supplementary budget of €14 million in August last year, Kerry received additional funding of over €1.2 million in 2025. The total Kerry allocation for 2025 represents a 44% increase on the 2024 allocation.
We are committed to ensuring that the LIS scheme in Kerry and, indeed, nationally remains well-funded. We are engaging with local authorities. We have given the go-ahead for the initial 2026 programme to proceed. We are closely monitoring our spend in the capital area across the Department to ensure any savings that emerge in the Department can be redistributed to LIS. I am very much aware of the challenge in Kerry regarding outstanding roads. Some 37 roads were completed in 2025.
Kerry County Council did not send any money back to my Department in terms of underspend, which I welcome. I am also conscious of the outstanding roads to be addressed in the county. As I said, I could invest the entire budget of my Department in LIS and still have outstanding roads. I am focused on addressing this. We are focused on introducing uniformity across the country in the spend on LIS. With that uniformity, we can get more roads done.
I thank the Minister. The difficulty and the reason Kerry should be treated as more of an exception than other counties, such as the midland counties, is that there are 580 roads in the scheme for the county.
I appreciate 37 were done last year but if we do the maths on that, we are talking the best part of 20 years. A lot of the people who are contacting me from places like Ballinglanna near Causeway, Tiershanaghan, Ballyheigue, Kilgulbin, Ardfert, Ballyconry near Ballyduff and Dromid in south Kerry will be drawing their pension, if they are lucky, by the time these roads are addressed. I appreciate there has been funding since 2017 but the problem with that is the list was closed in 2018 because there were so many roads in Kerry on it and it has not been opened for the past eight years. That is the scale of the problem we are dealing with in the county.
I agree. Looking at the figures, it is a particularly long list in Kerry. The Deputy is not the only Kerry Deputy who has made a special case for the county; there is also the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Foley, and other colleagues. We have put over €200 million into the LIS in less than ten years. It has made a difference around the country. I am aware of the length of the waiting lists and I am aware of the scheme. I make a very special case indeed for County Mayo, given its size, but I have other competing capital priorities. What the Minister of State and I have done last year is that where we can identify capital savings in the Department, we have targeted them towards LIS. It may not always be possible to do that but LIS will be a priority project as long as the Minister of State and I are in the Department.
I also say this to other Departments: the role of rural roads is not just for our Department. Other Departments have to step up. They are doing that but collectively, we could do a lot more. Our per km spend is an issue we are looking at as well. All local authorities need to have a certain band within which they spend on LIS. We do not need gold-plated roads; we need roads.
I thank the Minister for the reply. I will give some background and context on this. I am glad he mentioned local and regional roads because there were many announcements from certain Deputies in County Kerry that there was increased roads funding for the county but the local and regional roads funding was actually slashed by €2 million. Villages like Ballyduff, Fenit, Abbeydorney and Glenbeigh have no wastewater infrastructure. There is basically an Imhoff tank, or a hole in the ground, where the sewage is going into and they cannot develop in those areas.
Inflation has surged costs for the materials, labour and fuel, in addition to all of the heavy rainfall from climate change, which is digging into roads and making the roads that have been repaired in need of patching. I am talking about local and regional roads, such as Knocknacaska outside Kilflynn, where there has been a solar farm proposed. Despite all the great work it is doing, the council is playing catch-up. It is galling for people in Kerry to look at the nearly €500 million spent on MetroLink without a sod being turned and they cannot get to school, work or their businesses without going over potholed roads.
As well as giving us a tour of Kerry, the Deputy has raised a very important issue. I share the Deputy's concern about the severity of rain and the damage it is doing, as well as the severity of hard winters that are damaging roads. The Minister of State and I will be looking within the Department at some sort of uniformity. Some councils are spending a lot more per km than others. The disparity is quite significant. I do not want to be in a situation where we dictate to councils how they spend their money. That would be wrong.
Equally, we want to make sure the money we invest in LIS is spent on tar and roads and not on administration or positions. That is not the position in Kerry. We are very aware and conscious of the pressure on capital budgets, especially keeping in mind cost increases over the past three months. We will engage with our colleagues in the Department on spending and looking at LIS. The Minister of State assures me there has not been a cut in the Department of Transport for regional roads but I will certainly engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on that one.
The Deputy heard from the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, the last day. He is pressing the recurring button the whole time.
Urban Development
93. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for an update on the commitment to resource the town centre first model and establish a town regeneration team in every local authority, as outlined in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38004/26]
I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for their work on the town and village renewal scheme, the town centre first scheme and their engagement with me on these issues. I want to keep them on the agenda. Town centre first and town and village renewal are excellent schemes delivering tangible results for rural towns and villages. Suburban villages, like ours in Dublin 15, are not technically eligible. Will the Minister widen the schemes so more communities can benefit and could he do this for budget 2027?
I thank the Deputy for her ongoing interest in this with the Minister of State and I. As she knows, the town centre first policy is a key Government initiative. Within this Department, we share the town centre first policy with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and I met with the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, so that we can continue to ensure town centre first is relevant and delivering a real impact across rural towns and villages into the future. Significant progress has been made since the launch of the policy. This includes the establishment of town teams nationally, which is an important initiative, and setting up a national town centre first office within the Local Government Management Agency. In relation to our Department, I can confirm that 26 town regeneration officers have been appointed in local authorities across the country, including in Fingal County Council. These officers are the central drivers of the town centre first approach are the key link between the local authorities, towns and villages and their communities. As we discussed earlier, they do a lot of work that is unseen on identifying properties within town centres and identifying the opportunities in town centres.
As well as that, they support town teams, help towns to access available funding and they have a national network to support knowledge development and sharing best practice. Town regeneration officers also work closely across multidisciplinary regeneration teams in local authorities. Those teams include the capital delivery teams that are funded by my Department, as well as vacant homes officers, broadband officers and night time economy officers. As I said earlier this morning, on a recent visit to County Laois, I witnessed first hand how Laois County Council's strategic approach is leading to the effective delivery of a wide range of projects across the county.
The Minister of State and I continue to engage with officials on the Deputy's proposal for suburban towns. We also continue to engage with the Deputy on that. I very much believe and share her idea, which has also been expressed to me by other Deputies, that suburban villages and towns, which were the heart of communities, deserve support to retain their individual identities as cities continue to grow.
I thank the Minister. I appreciate how positive and successful the town centre first and town and village renewal schemes have been for my rural colleagues, which is why I want to access them for Dublin 15. There is a distinction between Dublin city or major population centres and then suburban villages that have been subsumed into the wider metropolitan area. Despite suburban growth, which we need, these communities still have village hearts, with residents eager to nurture, support and develop their village centres. During Covid, there was a new-found appreciation for local, suburban villages and supporting businesses and amenities in local communities within a short distance of people's homes. Building sustainable communities has never been more important.
In places like Castleknock village, we would be looking at upgrading the public realm, strengthening walking and cycling access and addressing chronic traffic issues because that would drive more footfall to the village. It would bring more life to the village and would support the businesses. There are wider funding streams such as active travel, business supports, playgrounds and other community centre investment funds but town centre first is unique because it devises plans for the village, by the village, and it tackles specific issues within a village.
I like the concept of the village heart. We have worked and models in Fingal, St. Margaret's, Rush and Ballyboughal. We ensured funding under town and village renewal. They are more rural villages and meet the population criteria. I have asked my officials to examine those examples with a view to a pilot. I cannot comment on budget 2027. It is far too early to actually comment on it but regardless of budget, we have to look at the schemes and protect those suburban villages and protect their heart. It is also a good time to ensure that the Deputy's communities know the community centre investment fund is open to them for the refurbishment part, which offers up to €100,000. That opens in the next week
The community recognition fund has invested in community projects across Dublin, within the inner city but also within communities. I had a good visit with the Deputy to Castleknock Community Centre and saw the amazing work being done there through community employment and other schemes. We are very much working on this. The town centre first policy should do what it says on the tin, and it is for towns and villages regardless of where they are.
I thank the Minister. He is absolutely right. There is a lot of interest in this. Interest is growing. I am just going to talk about Castleknock. The population directly around and including the village is about 15,000, whereas the wider area has about 30,000 people. That is why we are not eligible. We would not be eligible either under the urban regeneration and development fund. I have said before that we are falling between two stools.
Just over a year ago, Fingal County Council agreed that under the town centre first initiative, it would actually do a health check for Castleknock and Blanchardstown villages. That work is going to start in September, led by a town team that includes Castleknock Tidy Towns and the Castleknock business forum that was set up about a year ago. That is really positive. They are working on diagnosing the problems in the community and seeking funding to activate the associated plans. There is potential in this regard under the town and village renewal scheme. It would work for other villages in my area, such as Clonsilla, Blanchardstown and Ongar. We want to replicate in suburban areas the Government's success in rural areas. My colleagues are interested in doing this in other parts of the country as well.
Absolutely. The Deputy is very much pushing an open door here. The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Deputy Chambers, has had similar discussions with me on this issue. The Minister of State in my Department, Deputy Buttimer, has mentioned Bishopstown, Douglas and other villages in Cork.
We need to keep the focus on the actual scheme, however. The scheme has been successful. It has been tightly defined in terms of projects and what can be achieved. We have to be realistic about what can be done in a rural area versus a city area in terms of budgets and the availability of space on the ground.
The most important thing the Deputy mentioned is how various organisations within her hometown, Castleknock, are being asked for their opinions first. The initiative is not just coming from city hall or county hall in Fingal; the community is running it. We had the privilege of meeting the Tidy Towns group and various other groups with the Deputy. Pride in the area is evident but we need to protect it, invest in it and, as the Deputy said at the outset, invest in the heart of the village.
Questions Nos. 94 and 95 taken with Written Answers.
Departmental Policies
96. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will provide an update on the public consultation process for the successor to the Our Rural Future policy; the way the recently announced €3 million investment in Coillte recreational sites and the €60 million allocated for rural regeneration and development fund projects in 2026 will be prioritised to address depopulation in the most remote western regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31546/26]
125. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for an update on the publication of Our Rural Future 2026–2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37547/26]
137. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to confirm when Our Rural Future 2026–2031 policy will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38266/26]
Deputy O'Sullivan is not here but, with the permission of the House, his question may be asked by Deputy O'Shea.
Will the Minister give an update on the publication of Our Rural Future 2026–2030 and make a statement on the matter? As he knows, rural Ireland is at the heart of our country. It is where people live, work, raise families, run businesses and contribute enormously to our economy and society. Rural communities also face unique challenges, from access to housing and healthcare to transport, connectivity and sustaining local services. I am very hopeful that the new strategy will focus on balanced regional development, supporting rural jobs, revitalising our towns and villages, improving infrastructure and ensuring that people can continue to live and thrive in their own communities.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 96, 125 and 137 together.
I thank Deputy O'Shea for his question. The Our Rural Future policy is delivering vital investment and supports to rural areas, strengthening local economies and improving quality of life across rural Ireland. Our programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new Our Rural Future policy. The development of this policy has been informed by very extensive public and stakeholder consultation, which took place throughout 2025. It gathered the views of over 2,000 participants.
The engagement included an online survey, a series of eight public and stakeholder events, including one in Charleville, and a public written consultation, which received more than 270 responses. The Rural Youth Assembly was directly consulted to ensure the voices of young people are being fully considered in this process. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I, along with our officials, have held bilateral meetings with key stakeholders and representative groups, including the GAA demographics group, Departments and public bodies.
The key themes emerging include supporting local economies and strengthening the resilience and sustainability of rural towns, villages and communities, all with a view to promoting balanced regional development. The development of the new policy has also been informed by an independent review of rural policy in Ireland, which was carried out by a panel of international experts from the OECD. The new policy will continue our whole-of-government approach, building on the progress and investment that have been delivered to date and setting out a renewed and refreshed vision for the years ahead.
With this in mind, I recently brought an update to a Cabinet meeting in relation to the development of a new policy and our shared approach to delivering ambitious and measurable actions across government. Informed by the results of the consultations and the OECD review, the new Our Rural Future policy will be based around five interconnected policy pillars, focusing on rural places, rural services, rural communities, the rural economy and the rural environment.
In addition to the policy setting out the key priorities in each pillar, a series of ambitious, clear, practical and measurable actions will be developed and outlined in the accompanying action plan, which will cover the initial period, until the end of 2028. The policy and the associated action plan are nearing completion. We are continuing to work with ministerial colleagues to finalise this process. We are beginning a series of bilateral meetings with a view to bringing a draft of the policy to the Government over the summer.
On the issue of depopulation, recent figures from the Central Statistics Office show the population of highly rural and remote areas increased by 6.4% between 2016 and 2022. These findings align with the analysis of the OECD, which, in its review, found that rural and remote regions in Ireland recorded the highest population growth of all OECD countries between 2001 and 2021.
Of course, there are significant variations within these figures, and I very much recognise that there are rural areas that face particular challenges. Ensuring the sustainability and attractiveness of all rural areas remains a key focus of the Government. The development of our new Our Rural Future policy and the full range of schemes being delivered by the Department focus on this.
I welcome the Minister's commitment to the publication of the Our Rural Future strategy for the period 2026 to 2030. It is vital that we continue to deliver for rural Ireland through sustained investment and practical schemes that make a real difference in people's lives. We have seen the positive impact of investment in rural regeneration, town and village renewal, rural transport, broadband and community development projects right across the country. However, there is still more work to do. Rural communities want to see continued support for housing delivery, improved local services, stronger infrastructure and greater opportunities for young people to live and work in their own areas. Schemes that support rural businesses, farmers, tourism and community organisations must remain a priority if we are to keep our towns and villages vibrant and sustainable. The strategy now provides an opportunity to build on the progress that has already been achieved and to ensure no rural community is left behind over the coming years.
I am very much focused on and in alignment with the Deputy's vision. We have made significant progress. Through budget 2026, we are investing €600 million in communities across the country, particularly through the rural development investment programme, which will see a total of €192 million invested this year. The various initiatives have been developed in capital programmes in a targeted way, but also, as I have said consistently this morning, they are directed and owned by communities, either through local authorities or local development companies. It is important that this is not coming from the Department but from communities across the country.
I was particularly delighted to announce the community centre investment programme, which is not just for rural areas but is very much focused on them. It will open next week. We recently announced a partnership with Coillte to invest further in a programme that, since 2020, has delivered €16 million to develop rural trails and services to open up enterprise initiatives. I thank Coillte for its work on this. My officials are engaging with Coillte to develop a further programme.
We have already mentioned the RRDF programme, the town and village renewal programme and the outdoor recreation investment scheme. Those schemes are bringing economic opportunities that are sustainable and job-creating. They are brining infrastructure investment into rural areas, which will allow for long-term development. We have looked at the reawakening of rural communities, such as the Shackleton Experience in Athy and the projects in Laois and Kerry that I had the pleasure of visiting some weeks back. All of the projects we visit give us a drive to keep doing this work and to ensure the new Our Rural Future document will be different. It will build on previous work but it must be different and relevant to Ireland between 2026 and 2030. Many of the submissions we have got reflect that ambition. They reflect the challenges but also reflect a new ambition and outside-the-box thinking.
As I said in my initial response, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I met the GAA demographics committee to get under the bonnet of those population figures. While the OECD report was very positive, the GAA demographics committee gives us much more of the reality on the ground and, most importantly, of the disparity on the ground in rural population figures. That is something we will be targeting under the RRDF.
I thank the Minister, the Minister of State and the Department for the significant level of grant funding that has been delivered to Cork North-West in recent years for projects and community initiatives. I know that both the Minister and the Minister of State have been to Cork North-West in recent months, celebrating those projects, so I thank them.
Across our towns and villages, we have seen the real benefits of investment through schemes such as the town and village renewal scheme, the CLÁR scheme, the outdoor recreation supports and the RRDF. These investments are helping communities to improve facilities, support local enterprise, enhance public spaces and make rural areas more attractive places to live and work. I acknowledge in particular the work of the local community groups in the area, Cork County Council, the local development companies and the volunteers who continue to drive forward these projects on the ground.
Importantly, we have many more worthwhile projects in the pipeline across Cork North-West. The community has ambition and eagerness to continue improving those local areas. I look forward to working with the Minister, the Minister of State and the Department to secure continued support for these projects into the future. Continued investment in rural Ireland is essential to ensuring balanced regional development and strong, thriving communities.
I thank the Deputy. We were delighted to be with him in Baile Bhuirne in April, which is a good example of Departments working together under the RRDF, Roinn na Gaeltachta agus Údaras na Gaeltachta to reimagine Coláiste Íosagáin into the hub that it is now. That was a good example of Departments coming together. We have invested €440 million in 160 RRDF projects since 2020. We have invested €140 million in over 1,000 town and village renewal projects since 2020 and €110 million in over 1,200 projects under the outdoor recreation investment scheme since 2020. We have invested €65 million in 1,500 projects through CLÁR since 2020. Through the community centres investment fund, CCIF, we have invested €112 million across new builds, including one in Rylane in the Deputy's constituency, since its launch in 2020. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are opening CCIF again.
Separate from our Department, there is also the ongoing progress of the national broadband plan, a €3 billion investment in the communications infrastructure of rural Ireland. That will be finished next year. There is also the rural mobility plan, which the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, leads out at the Department of Transport, and will include the delivery of more than 180 new or enhanced public transport services. There is also work ongoing in my old Department with the regional enterprise plans and various initiatives that are regionally targeted, focusing on the different strengths of our regions. As we have already discussed this morning, there is also the town centre first initiative across the country. We continue to invest our island communities. I will be visiting island in the coming weeks around enhanced communications infrastructure.
All of that must happen under scaffolding and requires a policy document. That is why we are engaging in bilateral meetings at ministerial level around Our Rural Future. We must ensure that every Department understands it has responsibilities for the future of rural Ireland and cannot delegate all of those responsibilities to my Department. Our Rural Future in an all-of-government document. The action plan that comes with it will be an all-of-government document. It will assign responsibility, actions and targets to the various Departments and I will monitor their delivery. We will ensure they are delivered between now and 2028 in the first iteration of the programme.
Departmental Programmes
97. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 518 of 26 March 2026, if he will outline when the new programme will launch to succeed the RAPID programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38009/26]
I ask the Minister to outline to the House his plans to roll out a successor to the revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, RAPID, programme. The Minister will know that was a previous programme that was closed in 2011. It brought together funding from different Departments to invest in some of our most disadvantaged communities to try to improve design and invest in those communities' infrastructure.
I thank the Deputy for his ongoing interest in this issue. As he knows, the current programme for Government commits to the establishment of a new communities initiative, similar in style to the previous RAPID programme, whereby all State agencies work together to implement community development and town centre rejuvenation. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I prioritised the development of this programme in 2026. We are in a position to announce €5 million in capital funding. We are currently finalising the details of what that scheme may look like, and hope to be able to launch it ahead of the summer.
Considerations that are informing our work in the development of the programme include the changed demographic and socioeconomic landscape in Ireland. According to the revised Pobal HP deprivation index, post-census 2022, the gap between Ireland's most disadvantaged areas and the national average has increased. Furthermore, the number of people living in areas classed as very or extremely disadvantaged has also increased. The purpose of this new initiative is to focus on these areas to provide support for the development of much-needed infrastructure identified by the communities themselves. We need to ensure that the scheme is robust, evidence-based and fit for purpose, and directly targets the areas most in need of support.
We have conducted extensive research in the development of the new scheme. We have had discussions with experts from the ESRI, the Central Statistics Office and Pobal to inform the evidence base. The County and City Management Association, CCMA, the Local Development Companies Network and other Government Departments have also been consulted.
The level of information we now have about disadvantage in Ireland has increased enormously since the original RAPID programme was launched. Building on that evidence, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are determined that the new programme will become a solid foundation for ongoing targeted investment in our urban areas of greatest need. We have also been clear that a €5 million budget is not going to change things overnight. We want to ensure that this programme is back in place, grows in the years to come and is seen to make a difference on the ground in our most disadvantaged urban communities.
I welcome the efforts of the Minister and the Minister of State. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, has responsibility for SICAP, which does fantastic work in disadvantaged areas. However, funding for infrastructure is also incredibly important. Often, by changing the physical landscape of an environment, you can bring real change to those communities. We should be working in partnership with, for example, the local community safety partnerships, the SICAP partners, the local community development committees, LCDCs, and the providers of the range of other grants that are coming into the communities for which people can apply. There needs to be a degree of co-ordination.
I also welcome the fact that there will be an evidence base for this. That will ensure the communities that are really in need get these supports. It will mean we will be advocating for other communities that are on the edge to also be included. I say with some certainty that some of the communities in my constituency that are in that category will be on that list. Both the Minister and the Minister of State are welcome to my constituency to launch the scheme when it is done. That is an open invitation. I say that in the expectation that there may be communities nearby or elsewhere that will not be included. We have to go further than €5 million. We must go to €10 million and €15 million over successive budgets. I wish the Minister and the Minister of State the best of luck. They are both great champions of this project.
I thank the Deputy for the invitation. We will bear it in mind. There will be relevant areas in the Deputy's constituency, which is not something we should be proud about. There has not been an urban disadvantage programme that includes capital investment. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, is doing huge work with SICAP but this programme needs to make a difference and we need to ensure it is not wasted and the money goes directly to projects and communities.
What I do not want is for it to go into administration or stuff that will not deliver to the communities we want to target it at.
Second, it will be evidence based and massive work. I thank the officials in the Department, who are putting in massive work to try to ensure we have a solid evidence base.
Third, as soon as we get a launch, we will engage in terms of budget negotiations for 2027 and 2028 and to the end of the lifetime of this Government to ensure we can begin to build this up. Whereas €5 million is a small investment, I think it is one that will make a difference in many of these communities if it is targeted appropriately and correctly into facilities that have been identified from within the community.
Absolutely. The other thing is that it is sustainable and has certainty. Local authorities, for example, depend on funding over time. Often with sports capital funding, for example, they are able to identify a project and then over time they are certain of funding. RAPID has to be the same. We have to have this on a permanent basis for people who are planning in these communities. In places like Ballymun or Finglas, the problem often is that people are exhausted with initiatives. There is initiative after initiative and there is a new approach and what we need is certainty of funding over time and a strategic approach. The Minister saw that when he came to Ballymun while in opposition, and I know he committed to investing in those communities. I welcome what he is doing in terms of RAPID and I call on the Minister for Finance and the Minister for public expenditure to ensure there is sufficient funding. I also credit Joe O'Brien in the previous Government, who had the enhancing communities programme. It builds on this but we have to learn the lessons from that programme too as to where things did not go right. Enhancing infrastructure has to be co-ordinated and sustainable. The local authority has to have confidence over time, and we need to make sure that over time, it increases in its scale.
I know, and the Deputy has touched on something there about initiative exhaustion. That is important because we are often asking the same people in communities to lead out on these on the ground. We are generally always asking the same people in local authorities and in local development companies to drive these on the ground. That is something both the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I will reflect on. It is important that we get the scheme back, that we have it on the books of the Department, that it grows in the years to come and that it will make a difference. I think the difference will be measured over a number of years. When I was with the Deputy in his constituency in the winter, I saw a couple of areas where small capital investments would make a big difference. They do not have to be trophy projects or massive projects. Small investments will deliver security to a community. I hear the Deputy 100%. We will engage with the Department of justice around community safety partnerships as well. Definitely, we will reflect on his point about initiative exhaustion. That is very real. For this to be successful, we have to ensure that people have faith in it.
Pleanáil Teanga
98. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Conor D. McGuinness den Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht an bhfeiceann sé acmhainn i bhforbairt líonraí nua pobail Ghaeilge agus i dtabhairt aitheantais fhoirmiúil do phobail taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht; agus an bhfuil scrúdú déanta ag a Roinn ar thacaíochtaí nó ar bhearta beartais do cheantair ina bhfuil pobail láidre Ghaeilge agus Ghaelscolaíochta. [38387/26]
If invitations to the Minister and the Minister of State are what gets things done and gets investment happening, they are both very much invited to Dungarvan, hopefully with-----
I was there last week.
-----a load of funding to build a community centre. If it is big enough, we might even name it after the pair of them.
An cheist ba mhaith liom a chur ar an Aire ná mar gheall ar phobal láidir Gaeilge taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht. Tá pobail nua ag fás ar fud na tíre, mar is eol dó, go minic bunaithe ar Ghaelscoileanna agus ar eagraíochtaí pobail. An bhfeiceann an tAire acmhainn i scéimeanna nua tacaíochta agus in aitheantas foirmiúil do phobail den chineál sin, áit a bhfuil an Ghaeilge á húsáid mar theanga phobail agus oideachais?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an invitation go dtí Port Láirge. Beimid ann i gceann cúpla seachtain. Táim ag súil leis an gcuairt sin. Mar a dúirt mé, tá scéim le haghaidh árais phobail. Tá sé ag oscailt. Tá scéim le haghaidh árais phobail nua ag oscailt an bhliain seo chugainn. Beimid in ann é sin a reáchtáil.
Faoi Acht na Gaeltachta, 2012, tugtar aitheantas do líonra Gaeilge nuair a bhíonn pleananna teanga aontaithe acu lena bpobal. Ní mór do na pleananna sin na critéir pleanála teanga a chomhlíonadh le go dtabharfar an t-aitheantas cuí dóibh. Tá Foras na Gaeilge freagrach as tacú le heagraíochtaí maidir le hullmhúchán agus feidhmiú pleananna teanga sna líonraí Gaeilge.
In 2015, fuair cúig cheantar aitheantas mar líonraí Gaeilge, is é sin go n-aithnítear iad mar cheantar taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht ina bhfuil mais chriticiúil de chainteoirí Gaeilge agus tacaíocht Stáit agus seirbhísí ar fáil don phobal sa teanga. Is iad na líonraí a fuair aitheantas ná Cluain Dolcáin, Baile Locha Riach agus Inis faoi Acht na Gaeltachta agus iarthar Bhéal Feirste agus Carn Tóchair faoin scéim neamhreachtúil atá á riar ag Foras na Gaeilge sa Tuaisceart. Feidhmíonn pobail na Gaeilge sna líonraí seo trí ghréasáin shóisialta agus bíonn ceanneagraíocht áitiúil i mbun forbartha ar na pobail ghréasáin sin.
Is é an aidhm atá leis an scéim forbartha líonraí Gaeilge - scéim eile de chuid Fhoras na Gaeilge - ná an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn, a chothú agus a bhuanú ar bhonn ceantair le béim faoi leith ar fhorbairt agus ar fheidhmiú pleananna teanga cuimsitheacha do na ceantair sin rannpháirteach sa scéim. Tá an bhéim sa scéim seo ar phleanáil níos fadtéarmaí agus níos straitéisí, de réir phrionsabail na pleanála teanga. Bítear ag súil go mbeadh sé mar chuspóir ag an iarratasóir aitheantas mar líonra Gaeilge a ghnóthú amach anseo don cheantar atá rannpháirteach sa scéim. Cur chuige céimnitheach atá beartaithe sa scéim seo; dá réir sin, aithnítear trí chéim forbartha - ardchéim, meánchéim agus bunchéim.
Aontaím leis an Aire go bhfuil an Ghaeltacht lárnach agus go bhfuil pobail Ghaeilge breá bríomhar fud fad na tíre seo ó Thuaidh agus ó Dheas. Caithfimid an Ghaeltacht a chosaint, a chothú agus a neartú. Níor cheart go mbeadh cosaint agus fás curtha i gcoinne a chéile. Tá gá le seasamh cosanta cinnte mar gheall ar an 100 bliain d’fhaillí an Stáit seo i dtaobh na Gaeilge agus na bpobal Gaeltachta. Tá gá freisin le fís fháis - fís atá uaillmhianach. Ní leor a rá go gcaithfimid an méid atá fágtha a shábháil. Caithfimid oibriú i dtreo pobal nua, líonraí nua, spásanna nua agus todhchaí níos leithne don Ghaeilge. Nílim ag déanamh glaoch inniu mar gheall ar theorainneacha na Gaeltachta a athrú nó a leathnú láithreach, ach táim ag iarraidh go mbeidh an tAire ag glacadh leis an bprionsabal go bhfuil pobail láidre Ghaelacha taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht ar fiú iad a aithint agus tacú leo. Baineann sé sin le stádas chomh maith, b’fhéidir stádas Gaeltachta nó stádas ar leith taobh leis an nGaeltacht. Táim ag smaoineamh ar na bailte seirbhíse Gaeltachta atá taobh leis an nGaeltacht, agus, i gceantair áirithe, laistigh den Ghaeltacht, agus na líonraí ó Thuaidh agus ó Dheas.
Aontaím go mór leis an Teachta. Beidh sé suimiúil é sin a phlé lá eile. Faoi scéimeanna tacaíochta Gaeilge i mo Roinn, cuirtear maoiniú suntasach ar fáil do thionscnaimh éagsúla chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht. Déantar sin trí eagraíochtaí, lena n-áirítear Conradh na Gaeilge, Glór na nGael, Gaeloideachas, Gael Linn agus Oireachtas na Gaeilge. Faigheann na heagraíochtaí sin a mbunmhaoiniú ó Fhoras na Gaeilge.
Tugann mo Roinn maoiniú breise dóibh le haghaidh tionscnaimh straitéiseacha chun úsáid na teanga a chur chun cinn. I nGael Linn tá an scéim Gaelbhratach do scoileanna. I nGlór na nGael, tá scéim teanga tí ag cur úsáid na Gaeilge sa bhaile chun cinn. Úsáideann Conradh na Gaeilge an ciste spreagtha a chothaíonn úsáid na teanga ag imeachtaí pobail thart ar sheachtain na Gaeilge. Tá maoiniú ag Gaeloideachas chun earnáil na luathblianta Gaeilge a fhorbairt. Tá maoiniú suntasach ag Oireachtas na Gaeilge chun na healaíona teangabhunaithe agus líonra Gaeilge sna seirbhísí poiblí a fhorbairt.
Tá a lán slite ina bhfuilimid ag cuidiú leis an nGaeilge taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht. Aontaím leis an Teachta go bhfuil deiseanna agus fuinneamh ag cúrsaí Gaeilge ag an bpointe seo. Caithfimid cuidiú leis sin agus é a spreagadh. Tá sé i ngach cuid den tír. Is é sin an rud is tábhachtaí dom.
Cé go bhfuil an dualgas orainn an Ghaeltacht a chosaint agus tá an Ghaeilge rófhada faoi chosaint ar pháipéar agus faoi bhrú sa saol fíor amach ansin, tá gá anois an chéim uaillmhianach chun tosaigh a ghlacadh. Tá an-taithí agam ar na scéimeanna, na tionscadail agus na heagrais ar leith atá ag obair ar an talamh agus atá ag fás an phobail sin agus ag tacú leis an bpobal leis an nGaeilge a bheith mar theanga chumarsáide inár dteaghlaigh i mbailte, i sráidbhailte, i scoileanna agus sa phobal i gcoitinne. Caithfimid an stádas agus an t-infreastruchtúr a chur timpeall air sin ionas gur féidir linn a rá go bhfuilimid ag cosaint ár gceantair Ghaeltachta agus an fás nua seo chomh maith don todhchaí ionas gur féidir linn an Ghaeltacht - pobal mór lucht labhartha teanga na tíre seo - ní hamháin a chosaint ach a mhéadú amach anseo agus an fhís uaillmhianach sin a bheith ann.
Is cinnte go mbaineann sé sin le hacmhainní, agus acmhainní sa bhreis ar an méid atá dáilte amach ag an Rialtas go dtí seo. Tá sé bainteach le cúrsaí stádais agus aitheantais chomh maith.
Tuigim an dualgas an Ghaeilge nó an Ghaeltacht a chosaint. Tá sé sin lárnach i mo chuid oibre. B’fhéidir go mbeidh seans againn an tsuirbhé shuimiúil ó Fhoras na Gaeilge, a foilsíodh an tseachtain seo, a phlé sa Teach. Leagann sé amach figiúirí an-úsáideacha don chomhrá seo. Leagann sé dúshlán amach agus cuireann sé na figiúirí ar fáil. Is é seo an chéad uair go bhfuil an t-eolas againn ar na dearcthaí sin agus beimid in ann cuidiú leis seo.
Mar a dúirt mé, tá na scéimeanna ann. Táimid ag cuidiú le daoine Gaeilge a úsáid taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht. Labhair mé faoi na scéimeanna sin freisin. Tá gradaim ghnó Ghlór na nGael ann do dhaoine atá in ann Gaeilge a úsáid gach lá agus iad i mbun gnó – i ngnóthaí beaga agus iad ag siopadóireacht. Tá sé sin tábhachtach freisin. Beidh mé i gcathair na Gaillimhe an tseachtain seo chugainn le haghaidh Ghradam Sheosaimh Uí Ógartaigh, scéim iontach a thugann aitheantas agus cuidiú do chomhlachtaí atá i nGaillimh ach taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht chun an Ghaeilge a úsáid i príomhchathair na Gaeilge. Tá an scéim sin tábhachtach. Beimid in ann an Ghaeilge a cheiliúradh taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht anseo.
Question No. 99 taken with Written Answers.
Departmental Funding
100. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the measures being taken by his Department to alleviate the burden of community services programme funding recipients being required to provide fully audited accounts on an annual basis. [38218/26]
Before I ask my question, I welcome to the Gallery pupils from St. Joseph's National School in Fermoy in my constituency and their teachers, Mr. Barry and Mr. Flynn.
They are all very welcome. I hope they enjoy their day in Dáil Éireann.
What measures is the Department taking to alleviate the burden of community services programme funding recipients being required to provide fully audited accounts on an annual basis? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.
I welcome the students from Fermoy and their teachers. The summer holidays are ag teacht. Go n-éirí leo.
I thank Deputy McCarthy for this very important question. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are working together in the context of the community services programme, which supports 453 services nationally through 434 community organisations to provide local social, economic and environmental services through a social enterprise model, with a budget of around €59.4 million. The requirement placed on organisations to provide audited annual financial statements comes from the Department of public expenditure and reform, through Circular 13/2014 on the management of and accountability for grants from Exchequer funds. Certain qualifying small-sized companies, including social enterprises, may be exempted from the full extent of the provision of annual financial statements to the Companies Registration Office, CRO. They are, however, required to provide audited financial accounts to their funding bodies if they are in receipt of Exchequer funding, in line with the Department of public expenditure's circular.
The detailed financial information contained in audited annual financial statements enables Pobal, which administers the programme on behalf of my Department, to monitor the financial performance of supported organisations, to review the notes to the audited accounts and to rely on the independent audit assurances provided. The abridged accounts acceptable under the CRO exemption would not contain this detailed information. In addition, the funding model introduced for the community services programme, CSP, in 2023 includes the level of retained income as one of the criteria used in determining the appropriate funding category to meet the funding needs of organisations. The abridged accounts that are permissible under the CRO exemption would not contain such necessary details.
On foot of the Deputy's question and ongoing conversations with him, I am aware of the additional costs being incurred by organisations in fulfilling this requirement. I fully understand, given my previous role as a member of a GAA club, that the cost incurred has increased over recent years. The Minister and I have asked officials in our Department to consider whether there are options available to support small-sized organisations.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. The reason I tabled a question in the first instance is that it was recently brought to my attention by members of a local community group that has long received CSP funding that a significant portion of this funding is taken up with providing the fully audited accounts. There is a requirement on this group to provide fully audited accounts on an annual basis. This is a local community group with, to my knowledge, no financial issues or irregularities, yet it is being requested to spend thousands each year on ensuring its financial accounts are fully audited. In the particular case I am familiar with, the costs are between €6,000 and €7,000 out of a funding allocation of €27,000. This is excessive and runs counter to the spirit of the community services programme and the important work local community groups do for communities up and down the country. I ask the Minister of State if such a requirement exists and whether it applies to all successful CSP funding applicants. Listening to his statement, I agree that we should find something else to help this group, rather than them having to face an annual burden of spending between €6,000 and €7,000 of its allocation on this.
The Deputy is absolutely right. All of us, in particular, the Minister and I, accept there is a responsibility, in terms of accountability and transparency, on organisations in receipt of public money. In saying that, if putting an onus and a financial burden on small community groups and organisations that get grants to be compliant with accounting procedures results in them spending a significant proportion of their grant on meeting that requirement, it defies the purpose of the grant scheme and the funding support to these organisations. However, none of us want to see the wild west when it comes to irregularities. We will have people coming into the House today who will question us on financial responsibility and the roles and functions of directors of companies. I know there is a burden and we will come back to that.
I thank the Minister of State for his very positive response. I understand the reasons for audited accounts but if he could speak to the Department, I am sure we could find a system which would not place a burden on community groups that do great work. If it costs them €6,000 or €7,000 out of €27,000 of a grant to do this, the Minister of State will see that they are under financial pressure. I welcome the positive response. I thank the Minister and Minister of State for their co-operation and help and I look forward to a positive reply on the matter.
The Deputy may have heard the Minister and me speak this morning about the amount of money we are spending on community development and the importance of community. We are very much aware of the auditing requirement for moneys that are allocated and given and the need for transparency and accountability. In saying that, the Deputy has outlined, and we know from our own experiences, that some of the costs being incurred by organisations in fulfilling their duties and requirements do not make sense. The Minister and I have asked officials in the Department to examine options whereby we could support smaller CSP-funded organisations in this regard. We fully accept the responsibility and duties but we hope Pobal and our Department will engage with CSP-supported organisations, which have raised concerns in recent weeks.
Social Isolation
101. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he is familiar with the farmers' yards initiative; if he sees potential for the initiative as part of wider rural regeneration and rural enterprise development; and if he has engaged with any Government Departments or State agencies regarding its future development. [38389/26]
I ask the Minister of State about the farmers' yard initiative developed - in this country in any case - by Dr. Shane Conway and Dr. Maura Farrell, and piloted successfully in Mountbellew mart. I met recently with Dr. Shane Conway to discuss the model. It uses marts as trusted social spaces for older farmers, combining peer-to-peer support, information sharing, social contact and discussion around issues such as succession, ageing, isolation and farm life. As we discussed earlier, social isolation, particularly in rural Ireland, is reaching crisis levels, so this is a timely initiative. Is the Minister of State familiar with the initiative and does he see its potential as part of rural regeneration and rural enterprise development?
I thank Deputy McGuinness for this very important question. He is right that Dr. Shane Conway in the University of Galway is taking a future-looking approach. I am aware of the initiative and know there is a similar synergy and relationship in the State of Pennsylvania. I certainly hope to explore that further.
I will happily talk further to the Deputy away from what is happening in the Chamber because this is a social initiative for older farmers. As the Deputy well knows, farmers do not just retire. They have a lifelong love and grá for the land, farming and agriculture.
The Government recognises the importance of this scheme, but also the well-being aspect and the issue of addressing socialisation. I met the Deputy in Waterford. He mentioned the great work being done by community organisations to combat deprivation and social isolation. This is something the Government should look at further. It is the responsibility of the Minister for agriculture in the main, but it is about the farming community and working across the Government. For example, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, referred earlier to Our Rural Future. I am happy to converse further with the Deputy because what we are trying to do is to keep people on the land. It is about succession planning and ensuring we have regeneration and a new uptake of farming. In Pennsylvania, a similar conversation is taking place.
The On Feirm Ground initiative provides training for agricultural advisers and service providers. It helps them to recognise the importance of health and well-being. It works also with women's sheds and men's sheds initiatives. We have had conversations during questions previously about the seniors alert scheme.
I thank the Minister of State.
I will conclude on this point. We need to continue this conversation. Perhaps the Department and the committee could do further work on it as well.
I would welcome that engagement. The strength of this initiative is that it is not asking anybody to go where they would not ordinarily go or to go outside their comfort zone. It is meeting people where they are at, where they feel comfortable and where they are turning up anyway. It is not just about isolation among older farmers; it is also about connecting younger farmers and giving people who are still farming but would love to retire a way to find somebody who might take on the enterprise. They can share skills that they have learned throughout their life. It is a critically important initiative. I welcome the Minister of State's engagement. It would be good to discuss this to see how the State and society can support it.
I ask the Minister of State to be very brief as the time is limited.
As the Minister outlined earlier, the approach being taken by the Government in Our Rural Future is one that we are looking to develop in terms of taking action to support further rural development and initiatives such as those we discussed this morning to combat social isolation. I will happily chat further with the Deputy on the matter.
Is féidir teacht ar Cheisteanna Scríofa ar www.oireachtas.ie.
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.