Vol. 1074 No. 2
77. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh den Aire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta an féidir leis a dheimhniú nach bhfuil sé beartaithe aon airgead breise caipitiúil a dheonú do Rannóg na Gaeltachta anuas ar an airgead a bhí socraithe cheana féin faoin bPlean Forbartha Náisiúnta.. [56049/25]
Is é an fáth leis an gceist seo ná go bhfuil an cuma ar an scéal go bhfuil athrá á rá, nó beagán cur i gcéill, maidir leis an airgead breise caipitil a dúirt an tAire go raibh á thabhairt do Roinn na Gaeltachta laistigh den bhuiséad, airgead a bhí geallta nó fógartha cheana féin sa phlean forbartha náisiúnta.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Tá leithdháileadh iomlán de €611 milliún faighte ag an Roinn ar fad i gcáinaisnéis 2026. Leis seo, cuirfear €192 milliún ar fáil don chlár fhorbartha tuaithe; €260 milliún don chlár forbartha pobail; agus €159 milliún do réimse clár na Gaeltachta, na Gaeilge agus na n-oileán. Fuair mé méadú an-suntasach sa mhaoiniú do chlár na Gaeltachta, na Gaeilge agus na n-oileán. Tá méadú 29% ar an leithdháileadh, ó €123 milliún go €159 milliún in 2026. Is é seo an méadú is mó sa réimse seo le blianta fada anuas.
Tá pleananna fíoruaillmhianacha againn chun tacú le pobail Ghaeltachta agus leis an nGaeilge araon. Leis an maoiniú, cinnteofar gur féidir linn dul chun cinn suntasach a dhéanamh chun na pleananna sin a chur i bhfeidhm in 2026. Is léir do chách an dearfacht atá mórthimpeall na teanga anois agus bainfidh muid lántairbhe as seo trí infheistíocht i réimse maoinithe reatha agus caipitil araon.
Maidir le maoiniú caipitil don earnáil, beidh sé ag méadú ó €30 milliún in 2025 go beagnach €55 milliún in 2026. Leis an maoiniú seo, beidh muid in ann oibriú ar thrí phríomhthionscadal infheistíochta a sheachadadh, is iad sin, Céibh Inis Oírr, an tIonad Gaeilge agus Cultúir ar Shráid Fhearchair i mBaile Átha Cliath, agus athfhorbairt suímh Choláiste Lurgan in Indreabhán mar mhol oideachais agus óige do Ghaeltacht Conamara. Rinneadh gealltanais i leith na dtionscadal seo sa phlean forbartha náisiúnta agus is cúis áthais dom an maoiniú a fháil chun iad a thabhairt chun críche anois. Gan airgead, ní bheadh muid in ann iad a dhéanamh. Tá an t-airgead sin curtha ar thaobh le haghaidh 2026 chun iad a leanúint.
Tá mé den tuairim mhaith go mbeidh an liúntas caipitil atá faighte ag mo Roinn leordhóthanach le freastal ar riachtanais chlár na Gaeltachta agus na Gaeilge.
Dar ndóigh, fáiltím roimh aon airgead breise a chaithfear ar thograí Gaeilge. D’fháiltigh mé roimhe seo nuair a tugadh an gealltanas sa national development plan, nó an plean forbartha náisiúnta, go gcaithfí an t-airgead seo. Is í an cheist ná cén fáth a bhfuil athrá á dhéanamh, amhail gur stuif nua iad seo? Is rudaí iad a bhí geallta cheana féin, go háirithe na trí thogra atá luaite ag an Aire. Ní fhaca mé fós aon bhriseadh síos den airgead caipitil atá á chur ar leataobh. Cá mhéad den sciar sin a chaithfear ar an ionad cultúir ar Shráid Fhearchair, ar Choláiste Lurgan agus ar an gcé, dar ndóigh, atá le hathtógáil, nó a ndéanfar athstruchtúrú uirthi?
An cheist ansin ná cad atá fágtha d’Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Tá sé deacair ag an bpointe seo sonraí don breakdown sin a thabhairt don Teachta. Beimid in ann sonraí faoi Ché Inis Oírr a thabhairt dó ach táimid fós ag obair leis an OPW ar Shráid Fhearchair. Tá an OPW in éineacht linn. Táimid ag lorg tender le haghaidh cúrsaí in Indreabhán. Beidh na sonraí agam tar éis an phróisis sin. Tá dúshlán mór ann d’aon tógálaí faoi láthair mar gheall ar chostais. Bhí sé sin soiléir san obair a rinneamar ar Ché Inis Oírr. Tugadh airgead caipitil breise don údarás agus le haghaidh gnáthchúrsaí. Tá mé ag cur béim ar chúrsaí digiteacha le haghaidh an údaráis freisin le go mbeidh sé in ann deiseanna digiteacha a bhaint amach do chomhlachtaí sa Ghaeltacht agus do mhuintir na Gaeltachta agus go mbeidh siad réidh le haghaidh na dúshláin atá ann sa bhealach atá cúrsaí digiteacha ag dul.
Tuigim nach bhfuil an tAire ag iarraidh méid an sciar a chraobhscaoileadh ag an staid seo má tá tenders ar siúl nó a leithéid, ach más €54 milliún de chaipiteal atá i gceist san iomlán, cé mhéad de sin a bhéas fágtha d’Údarás na Gaeltachta tar éis an trí togra eile? Tá an tAire tar éis a rá go bhfuil a fhios againn cé mhéad atá ag dul nó a bhéas ag dul d’Inis Oírr. Faoin staid seo, ba chóir go mbeadh tuairim éigin ann maidir leis an méid den sciar a bhéas ag dul ar 6 Sráid Fhearchair mar bhí sé sin tuartha nuair a tosaíodh an project ar an gcéad dul síos. Tuaradh é nuair a bhí an plean forbartha náisiúnta á phlé agus an rud ceannann céanna faoi Choláiste Lurgan. Tá tuairim ann cheana féin faoin gcostas mar ní bheadh an figiúr anseo ach amháin go bhfuil an briseadh síos sin ag an Aire agus gur lorg sé méid áirithe do gach ceann de na tograí sin. Tá briseadh síos ag teastáil ionas gur féidir linn fios a bheith againn cé mhéad airgead caipitil atá ar fáil sa bhreis ar an méid don trí togra sin agus an mbeidh sé ar fáil don údarás.
Tá méadú difriúil le haghaidh Údarás na Gaeltachta. Tá €2.5 milliún i gceist, lena n-áirítear méadú €1 milliún ar leithdháileadh caipitil le haghaidh an údaráis leis féin. Tá obair eile le déanamh le airgead caipitil sa Ghaeltacht freisin. Tá tograí nach bhfuil chomh mór leis na tograí atá sa phlean forbartha náisiúnta. Tá an ghnáthobair a dhéanaimid gach bliain maidir le cúrsaí Gaeltachta agus na cumainn spóirt ag teacht as sin. Tá mé sásta a rá go bhfanfaidh mé i dteagmháil leis an Teachta agus leis an gcomhchoiste mar gheall ar sonraí an trí togra sin. Tá siad thar a bheith tábhachtach agus beimid ag cóiméad súil ghéar orthu chun go mbeidh siad ag fanacht faoi bhun an bhuiséid atá acu. I ngach cás, tá sé deacair ag an bpointe seo a bheith cinnte cén saghas caiteachas a bheidh i gceist in 2026 ach beidh na sonraí sin agam i mí Eanáir nó mí Feabhra 2026 agus fillfidh mé ar an Teachta ansin.
79. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to detail his formal engagements with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and the outcomes of those engagements. [56317/25]
The rural housing crisis is the biggest single issue impacting rural communities and the long-term sustainability of rural Ireland. Previously, I asked the Minister about his engagement with the Minister for housing on this issue. To be fair, it was a number of months ago, and at that point the Minister had not been in the job all that long. Meetings had not taken place, although he indicated that engagement would follow. We also discussed the need for housing to be the cornerstone of the new rural development policy, the successor to the Our Rural Future scheme, which had very little to say about housing. Will the Minister update the House on that engagement, confirm whether a cross-departmental working group on rural housing has been established and outline what formal engagements he has had with the Minister for housing in a formal sense about the issue of rural housing?
I agree with the Deputy about the importance of housing. My Department works closely with colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage across a range of areas. Officials in both Departments are in regular contact about a number of areas that cut into housing, including town centre first, local economic and community planning, planning for and the provision of housing for Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas, input to the successor to the Our Rural Future policy, the local democracy task force, Dormant Account Fund measures and emergency response work, particularly around storms.
I have had three formal meetings with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, since my appointment, the most recent of which was yesterday. We have been discussing a number of key issues. A particular focus and priority for me is the planning and provision of housing for Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas and to ensure that there will be provision for this in the forthcoming housing plan. We have been discussing how we engage on that. We have discussed the development of our new rural development policy, which there will be questions about later. We will be moving into the final stage of consultation on this in the coming weeks and I will engage with the House on that. We have also had engagement on emergency storm responses, the Údaras na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the role of that body.
Official in both Departments continue to engage on the Gaeltacht planning guidelines. The Minister and I have asked for this work to be accelerated. I want the guidelines to be published as soon as possible. We are also ensuring that the Department of housing is central in both the plan and the actions of the new Our Rural Future policy. We continue to work with the Department in its work on storm response. We have a number of proposals to bring forward in that space.
I will have further meetings with the Minister and he has also joined me, since the Deputy and I last discussed this, in meetings with BÁNÚ agus Tintéan last June. We had a very good engagement. Bhí crinniú an-láidir againn, idir mé féin, an tAire, an Teachta Browne agus BÁNÚ agus Tintéan faoi chursaí pleanála sa Gaeltacht.
Is iontach é sin a cloisteáil, i ndáiríre, mar bhí an bhuairt ann nach raibh cainteanna ag dul ar aghaidh. Mar sin, cuirim fáilte roimh sin, ar a laghad. It is great that those engagements have taken place and I thank the Minister of State for his answer and for detailing the level of engagement and the issues that have been discussed by the Minister with the Department of housing. There are two big pieces of work under way in the Minister's Department in the successor to Our Rural Future and the Government's housing plan. Forgive me for being cynical, but I think most people would have a fairly sceptical approach to these plans, particularly on the housing side, given the failure to action any of the proposals contained in them. It is really important that those two plans would, at the very least, be conversant with each other and would have joint sets of objectives, key metrics and key actions that have very specific timelines to them. This would ensure that the two Ministers and their officials can keep tabs on it and that those of us on this side of the House can ensure progress is happening. These are existential issues both for na ceantair Gaeltachta and for so many rural communities across this country.
I would encourage the Deputy to put his cynicism to one side and look at budget 2026. It contains a record allocation of over €9 billion for housing capital investment. This has been a major issue that has come back to us in the consultation on Our Rural Future. The vacant property refurbishment grant provided by the Department of housing is really important in rural areas. A sum of €165 million has been allocated for the vacant property refurbishment grant for 2026.
Generally, in terms of our work on Our Rural Future, there was a 7% increase in the population of highly rural, remote areas between 2011 and 2022. There are serious disparities within that and I am trying to get in under that bonnet to ensure we assist those areas. Planning permissions have been granted for almost 6,000 one-off homes, on average, each year since 2020 and 90% of those are in rural settings. We will continue to work with the Minister, Deputy Browne, particularly on the necessary infrastructure for house building, such as water and sewerage. Is iad cursaí uisce agus cúrsaí séarachais go háirithe sna ceantair Gaeltachta na dúshláin gur gá duinn a réiteach le haghaidh infreastruchtúir. We will work closely with the Minister on that, the planning guidelines and the other issues I have discussed.
Chun mo cheart a thabhairt dom féin, níl sé i mo nádúr a bheith soiniciúil ach tá sé deacair gan a bheith i bhfianaise an méid nár thit amach thar na blianta. Mar is eol don Aire, tá géarchéim tithíochta sna ceantair Ghaeltachta agus níor sholáthar an buiséad, in ainneoin an méid atá ráite ag an Aire anseo, an maoiniú breise nó na cumhachtaí breise atá riachtanach chun dul i ngleic leis an bhfadhb. Feictear dúinn nach bhfuil na cumhachtaí ná na hacmhainní ag an údarás chun tithe sóisialta, tithe inacmhainne, tithe i suíomhanna seirbhíse inacmhainne nó tithe príobháideacha a thógáil inár gceantair Ghaeltachta nó ar fud fad tuath na hÉireann.
In ainneoin an mhéid a fógraíodh an tseachtain seo caite, ní fheictear dúinn go bhfuil na hacmhainní cuí, na cumhachtaí cuí nó an toil pholaitiúil ann chun dul i ngleic leis. Beidh le feiscint. Guím gach rath ar an saothar ach fós féin níl na treoirlínte pleanála Gaeltachta ann. Cé go bhfuil sé casta, is rud bunúsach é atá á dhéanamh le blianta anois agus tá éileamh mór ag teacht ón bpobal faoi sin. Níl sé i mo nádúr a bheith soiniciúil ach tá sé an-deacair gan a bheith.
Táim ag iarraidh obair leis an Teachta. Tá an t-airgead ann. Tá na figiúirí ann ón CSO a léiríonn go bhfuil ardú mór sna ceadúnais tithíochta, tithe aonair go háirithe. Táimid ag obair leis na húdaráis áitiúla. Bhí cruinniú agam freisin le príomhfheidhmeannaigh na n-údarás áitiúil a bhfuil Gaeltacht ann chun plé leis an dream sin faoi na rudaí is tábhachtaí. Leag siad béim ar an tábhacht a bhaineann le cúrsaí infreastruchtúir. Sin an fáth gur chuireamar béim sa phlean forbartha náisiúnta go mbeidh Uisce Éireann in ann obair ní hamháin ar chathracha agus ar bhailte móra ach ar cheantair tuaithe agus Gaeltachta freisin. Beidh mé ag cur brú.
Tá a fhios agam ón phlé a bhí agam leis an Aire go dtuigeann sé cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an t-infreastruchtúr sin. Tá samplaí agus scéalta agam faoi dhaoine atá ag iarraidh tithe a thógáil i sráidbhaile Gaeltachta nach bhfuil séarachas ann. Táimid ag díriú ar fhadhbanna cosúil leis sin agus na treoirlínte pleanála.
80. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will outline the new RAPID programme announced in budget 2026; and when he expects the programme to be operational by. [55400/25]
Will the Minister outline the details of the new RAPID programme announced in budget 2026? Communities have been eager to see renewed investment in their areas and clarity about how the programme will operate is really important. Will he outline the main features of the new scheme and indicate when he expects it to become fully operational?
The Minister of State and I were delighted to have secured funding of €5 million in budget 2026 for the introduction of a new programme for urban areas in line with the programme for Government commitment. RAPID stands for revitalising areas by planning, investment and development. Established in 2001, it was an area-based approach to disadvantage representing a focused initiative to target the 25 most concentrated areas of disadvantage in the country. The original RAPID programme closed to new applications in 2011, although it should be noted that my Department has continued to honour legacy commitments. These included my Department’s contractual commitments under previous RAPID projects, predominantly under the sports capital scheme.
A number of guiding principles underpinned the old RAPID programme and its activity. These are community participation and local ownership, which were crucial, promotion of strategic planning, co-ordination of provision of State services, building on existing structures, complementing existing initiatives, flexibility, and targeting of additional services, investment and facilities.
RAPID leverage schemes were previously introduced to support small-scale projects identified locally. These schemes were co-funded by other Departments and agencies and funded projects that focused on estate enhancement, graffiti removal, traffic calming, community closed-circuit television, health and sports facilities and the provision of recreational facilities. The schemes were also extended to co-fund the provision of facilities in schools located in RAPID areas.
The Minister of State and I are working with departmental officials on the potential formulation of a new scheme similar to the RAPID scheme. Considerations will include the changed demographic and socioeconomic landscape since the previous programme, potential geographical areas to be considered for targeted support and the levels of funding already available through other schemes in my Department. We have both been engaging with communities around the country in towns and cities in recent months to get an understanding of what communities want from such a programme.
The Minister outlined quite succinctly that the RAPID programme has been really important over the years in tackling disadvantage and dereliction and breathing life into new towns. The previous scheme made a real difference in places like Athy, where that targeted investment helped communities deal with deprivation and improve local facilities. As the Minister moves forward with the new RAPID programme announced two weeks ago, I urge him to make sure that towns like Athy and Newbridge in Kildare are again included. Both continue to experience high levels of deprivation and could really benefit from focused community-driven support. These towns have great energy and strong local groups doing fantastic work. They just need the right backing from the Government to help them.
I agree regarding the impact it has had. There were 25 designated disadvantaged urban areas, which included areas in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda and Dundalk. More provincial towns were added. At the end of the programme, the number of designated RAPID areas was 51. We may not be able to reach this figure but we want to get started in 2026. The Minister of State and I have been struck by the passion of communities in these areas. While there are a range of supports for communities in rural areas, we need to focus now on communities in urban areas.
As the Deputy referred to Athy, I want to thank everybody involved. I was in Athy in Friday and we launched the new rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF. As part of that, we saw the fantastic Shackleton Experience, which is funded through our Department's RRDF programme and Kildare County Council. With the recess approaching, I would encourage any Member to visit it. It is an example of how an historic 300-year-old building can be refurbished, repurposed and used as a driver of economic development. This, along with the food campus in Athy, will drive the transformation of that town.
I am taking this question on behalf of my party colleague Deputy Mark Wall so I might as well use the opportunity to give my constituency a plug in the hope we can secure funding for local projects that make a difference. My hope is that the new RAPID scheme will be a funding model that will also allow smaller grassroots projects for local groups, volunteers and small-scale interventions to take place. They need State funding to keep this going. It is much appreciated.
I agree. The Minister of State and I are very focused on making sure this is effective and community led. The Minister of State works on a daily basis with the teams in SICAP and community development organisations and we want to make sure they have an input into this. We want to keep what was good about the previous RAPID programme and keep the direction, focus and delivery. It may have been diluted over the years, spread too thinly and lost effectiveness. We want to get back to the effective results-driven programme with boots on the ground who live in, participate in and have businesses in an area. People who have a stake in the area should lead this programme. The Minister of State and I are very focused on delivering that kind of programme.
81. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if there are plans to move panic alarms administered by Pobal under the seniors alert scheme from copper phone lines to more robust broadband lines and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55509/25]
Storm Éowyn highlighted how vulnerable our older constituents with panic alarms and pendants are. Are there plans to move the seniors alert scheme away from copper phone lines?
I thank the Deputy for her question and her ongoing advocacy, particularly post Storm Éowyn. The Department is responsible for the seniors alert scheme, which encourages community support for older people through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available under the scheme for the purchase by a registered community based-organisation of a personal alarm or pendant. While the provision of the monitored alarm under the scheme is vital, so too is the engagement between the local community groups that sign people up to the scheme and the connections made between local people and local support structures. Since the scheme was launched in 2015, 153,023 participants have been approved for the alarms, including over 18,200 in 2024.
With regard to the issue of copper lines, when a person has been approved for an alarm under the scheme, a technician will install the correct device depending on the connectivity options at the person’s home. Currently, devices provided under the scheme connect to monitoring services via landlines, including copper, or via broadband and mobile networks. I understand that a small number of seniors alert scheme devices still operate over copper telephone lines at premises where no other option presents itself or where the participant has not requested a replacement. I am assured that where viable, a broadband or mobile device will always be recommended to participants over the older landline devices.
Officials at my Department have been engaging with Pobal, representative groups and the relevant telecommuications operator on the potential impacts of the replacement of copper infrastructure and plans to phase out the use of remaining legacy devices.
Our Department is currently reviewing all aspects of the seniors alert scheme, including the technology and services available. I hope we will be in a position to launch a new iteration of the scheme some time next year. I thank the Deputy for this important question.
It is welcome that a review is taking place. All of us, including my colleague from Mayo, are scarred by what we witnessed during Storm Éowyn. I would like to know how many people on the alarms are still on the old copper telephone lines. We need to look at this retrospectively. I understand the review is not supposed to be finished until next summer and I am worried about our preparedness for this winter. This relates to vulnerable adults in their nineties whose panic alarms go down. First the ESB goes down. They wait for the electricity to come back and then realise the problem is the telephone line, and Eir does not have the wayleave rights necessary to get onto properties. Following Storm Éowyn, it was weeks and sometimes months before an alarm was restored. If there is family nearby, they have to move in for days and communities try to rally around. I was awake in my bed at night thinking something was going to happen to a 90- or 100-year-old on their own in their bed.
Both the Minister and I are acutely aware of that. We have been anxious to ensure the distress many people felt is not replicated. That is why the review is taking place. There has been extensive engagement by our Department, and by the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, with the telecom companies. As part of that review alternative technologies are being examined and considered, because the Deputy is right. Any iteration of the scheme must take technological advances into account. Deputy Calleary and I are acutely aware. Both he and Deputy Keogh come from County Mayo, which was badly affected by Storm Éowyn. The key point is that the seniors alert scheme gives security to older and more vulnerable people at a critical time, especially in storms. If that confidence is gone, we will work with whoever to ensure we do not lose that important connectivity. Obviously, the storm has an effect on the cables and networks and that is a different matter, but the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, is engaging with the telecom companies on that.
Cross-government action is needed. We see the fantastic roll-out of the national broadband plan, which is having great results in Mayo. As the Minister of State said, broadband alarms are being recommended, but we have to go back retrospectively. More than 1,000 people in Mayo are using these alarms. I think of the people in Binghamstown, Belmullet, out in Leenane and in some of the rural black spots. Where we have been successful in putting in rural broadband we should get community groups to go out retrospectively, right now, ahead of winter 2025 to see the people whose panic alarms are attached to copper telephone lines, and see if we can get them switched over to the national broadband plan where it has already caught up. I acknowledge that there are ongoing reviews following Storm Éowyn and into panic alarms. However, if we are in this situation in December and the telephone lines go down again, I do not think we will be accountable to our constituents if we leave them.
We must take learnings from every storm and apply them in the round to what we can do better. The Deputy is right that there was huge success. There is merit in her suggestion about community groups being involved because they are critical to connectivity. However, the Minister and I have been clear with the officials in our Department that there must be extensive engagement. Pobal staff are involved, as are the telecom operators and the technology consultants. It is also imperative that representatives of groups for older people are involved because they bring learnings and outcomes back to people and from people. Equally, as the Deputy knows, the replacement of copper networks with fibre is the responsibility of Eir and ComReg and that lies under the remit of the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. We have been speaking and engaging with him. To be fair, he is driven by this as well because it is important that we instill security and confidence. Any iteration of the new scheme must take into account technological advancements, even accepting that we have made huge strides with our national broadband strategy, which has proved successful. I will take the Deputy's points back.
