Written Answers Nos. 409-424
409. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to detail the funding provided to the sound and vision scheme in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42969/24]
View answerThe Broadcasting Act 2009 made provision for the establishment of the Broadcasting Fund, to be managed and controlled by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, now Coimisiún na Meán, and funded primarily from 7% of net TV licence fee receipts.
The Act also provided for the establishment of schemes, the objectives of which include the development programmes based on Irish culture, heritage and experience, programmes in the Irish language, programmes which represent the diversity of Irish culture and heritage, or to support an integrated approach to the archiving of programme material within the broadcasting sector.
At present the Fund supports two schemes, the Sound and Vision Scheme and the Archiving Scheme. Sound and Vision enables increased availability of high quality television and radio programmes for Irish audiences, while the Archiving Scheme supports the development of an archiving culture and contributes to the preservation of Ireland’s broadcasting heritage.
The Broadcasting Act 2009 also provides that the Minister may allocate additional Exchequer funding to the Fund. 2020 was the first year that additional Exchequer funding was allocated, which I provided in recognition of the impact of COVID-19 on the sector. Since then increased Exchequer investment has enabled funding rounds targeted at programmes in areas such as Climate Change and Climate Action, Irish language programmes, the live music sector, and dedicated funding for the commercial radio sector.
The table below details both TV licence receipts and Exchequer funding paid to the Broadcasting Fund since 2022.
|
Year |
TV Licence Fee Receipts |
Exchequer Funding |
|
2022 |
€14.8m |
€7.5m |
|
2023 |
€13.5m |
€6m |
|
2024 |
€16.885m (estimated) |
€0 (as of 22nd October 2024) |
With regard to 2024, the total provision in the Revised Estimates for my Department in respect of the Sound and Vision and Archiving Schemes is €16.885m. The actual amount that will be available is subject to the total TV licence revenues generated this year and therefore will not be known until year-end.
As the total provision for 2025 will be based on TV licence sales for the year, I am unable to provide an accurate figure for 2025. However, as part of Budget 2025, I have secured a further €6 million in Exchequer funding for the Sound and Vision scheme, which will support the provision of news and current affairs content by independent commercial broadcasters. Work on the design of this scheme by Coimisiún na Meán will begin shortly and will be subject to State Aid approval.
410. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when she expects the national counter disinformation strategy to be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42970/24]
View answerThe Future of Media Commission recommended the development of a strategy for a more coordinated whole of Government and society approach to combat the damaging impact of disinformation on Irish society and democracy. The Working Group tasked with developing the Strategy was established in February 2023. It is independently chaired and comprises representatives from Government Departments, public bodies, industry, academia and civil society, with coordination being provided by my Department.
The Working Group has met frequently since its establishment in February 2023 and has heard from a range of experts in different fields related to disinformation, as well as conducting a written public consultation and holding a stakeholder consultation event.
The strategy takes a rights-based approach based on key principles, which include protecting freedom of expression; building resilience through education/media literacy; supporting quality journalism and the provision of reliable public interest information; regulatory enforcement, and research on what does and does not work in combatting this complex problem. Drafting of the strategy is now at an advanced stage and it is intended that it will be finalised as soon as practicable.
More information on the development of the Strategy is available at www.gov.ie/en/publication/04f9e-national-counter-disinformation-strategy-working-group/
411. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to detail the projected costs of the completion of the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42971/24]
View answer412. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to detail the projected costs of the completion of the national velodrome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42972/24]
View answer413. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to detail the projected costs of the completion of the badminton centre; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42973/24]
View answer414. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to detail the projected costs of the completion of the new national cricket centre; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42974/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 411 to 414, inclusive, together.
The National Development Plan 2021-2030 reiterated the Government’s commitment to the continued development of the National Sports Campus. In addition, Government approved the new Campus Masterplan in November 2022 and reaffirmed its commitment to the phased delivery of the National Sports Campus. The Masterplan provides a framework for the further development of the campus over the next 15 to 20 years and identifies the next key high-level projects for development.
An ambitious vision for the development of a national sports centre of excellence is set out under the National Sports Campus Masterplan and the Government will continue to support Sport Ireland in bringing this vision to fruition.
A National Velodrome and Badminton Centre and a National Cricket Stadium are important elements of the Campus Masterplan and I recently granted approval for Sport Ireland to progress both developments.
The National Velodrome and Badminton Centre will comprise of a 250 metre cycling track and up to 12 badminton courts in the in-track area, in addition to spectator seating and ancillary facilities. The Centre will provide world-class track cycling facilities for our athletes who currently have to travel abroad for both training and competition, as well as providing the sport of badminton with integrated training, gym and medical facilities. Planning permission for this project was awarded by Fingal County Council in January 2023 and Sport Ireland is now proceeding to tender stage. It is expected that construction will begin in 2025, with a likely completion date of mid-2027.
The objective of the project is to contribute to the success of high performance programmes and to increase participation in both track cycling and badminton, with positive impacts for both national pride and social well-being.
The proposed National Cricket Stadium will deliver a permanent home for international cricket in Ireland that meets International Cricket Council requirements and standards. The facility is expected to include a high performance centre, an arena for holding major games with associated media and spectator facilities and headquarter offices for Cricket Ireland. The facilities will be focussed on elite teams and high performance but will also be accessible for use by teams and players at a range of levels, including youth and local teams. The facility will play an important role in Cricket Ireland's plans to deliver on its co-hosting responsibilities with England, Wales and Scotland for the 2030 T20 World Cup. This project is now at pre-tender planning and design phase. The project will be delivered on a phased basis, with Phase 1 scheduled to commence in 2025 and to be completed in 2028.
For both of these projects, it is important not to pre-empt the tendering process in respect of the estimated project costs at this stage. I expect to be in a position to confirm the overall budget allocation for the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre by mid-2025. For the Cricket facility, designs works must be completed and planning approval received before a tendering process can commence.
The National Sports Campus is already a world-leading athlete focused facility and this next phase of its development will further enhance Ireland’s sporting infrastructure.
415. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Thomas Pringle den Aire Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán cathain a bheidh toghchán Bhord Údarás na Gaeltachta ar siúl; cad iad téarmaí agus coinníollacha an bhoird a thoghfar, mar shampla, cé na huaireanta agus cén tuarastal a bheidh i gceist; agus an ndéanfaidh sí ráiteas ina thaobh. [42991/24]
View answerFoilsíodh an Bille um Údarás na Gaeltachta (Leasú) 2024 i mí Iúil na bliana seo. Is é cuspóir an leasaithe reachtaíochta atá ar bun toghcháin do bhord an Údaráis a athbhunú agus dá réir tá na critéir a bhaineann le ceapachán comhaltaí chuig an mbord, idir chomhaltaí tofa agus chomhaltaí roghnaithe ar fáil sa Bhille. Is féidir cóip den Bhille agus an meamram míniúcháin a ghabhann leis a léamh ar shuíomh gréasáin Thithe an Oireachtais. Níl aon dáta socraithe do thoghcháin go fóill agus an próiseas reachtaíochta go fóill idir lámha.
Íocfar táillí le comhaltaí faoi réir threoirlínte atá leagth síos ag an Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí Sheachadhadh PFN agus Athchóirithe.
416. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the reason stop signs which are positioned at the side of roads and printed onto the road itself, in Gaeltacht areas in County Donegal are written in English and not in the Irish language; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42996/24]
View answerRegulations for road signs and markings, including the use of Irish on signs, are set out in the Traffic Signs Manual, which is an official publication issued as an order by the Minister for Transport under section 95 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. I have no remit with regard to traffic signs.
417. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the amount of money granted to sporting facilities under both the sports capital grant and the large-scale sport infrastructure fund from 2020 to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43083/24]
View answerOn 25 September, Minister Martin and I announced €230 million in grants for sports clubs and facilities under phase 2 of the Community Sport Facilities Fund (formerly the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme).
Over a quarter of a billion euro has been allocated to community sports clubs and facilities in 2024, taking account of the earlier equipment-only allocation of €26 million, with a total investment of €256 million. This will facilitate the largest-ever investment in sports facilities in communities across Ireland.
Details of allocations under this round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund can be found by using this link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/3f9fa-community-sport-facilities-funding/. Details of allocations under previous rounds of the Community Sport Facilities Fund can be accessed by using this link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/471ed5-sports-capital-allocations/
The National Sports Policy, which was published in 2018, provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the LSSIF is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects where the Exchequer investment would be greater than the maximum amount available under the Community Sport Facilities Fund (formerly the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme).
The first call for proposals under the LSSIF closed in 2019 with applications confined to local authorities and National Governing Bodies of Sport. All applications were assessed in accordance with the published Evaluation Procedures and Guidelines with the first allocations announced in January 2020. Details of allocations under the large-scale sport infrastructure fund can be found by using this link: gov.ie - Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF)
Earlier this year, Minister Martin and I announced funding of up to €120 million under the new 2024 round of the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, which closed for applications on 1 July 2024. Assessment of applications is well advanced and I hope to announce allocations under this latest round of LSSIF in the coming period.
418. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the number of vacant properties owned by her Department; and the number of which are houses or residential properties. [43153/24]
View answerIn general, matters relating to property for my Department are the responsibility of the Office of Public Works. My Department does not own any properties.
419. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media regarding her support of connectivity and air access to the whole island, if she will please provide an account of the number of individual services (routes) that have been supported through the cooperative marketing fund per year since 2014, detailing which airport, State owned and otherwise, those services landed into; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43240/24]
View answerGovernment acknowledges the value of aviation in supporting international connectivity, economic development and tourism via airports. As an island economy, it is essential that tourism is enabled by the supply of convenient, direct and competitive access.
It is a policy priority of my Department to put an increased focus on regional growth and season extension, delivering greater visitor dispersal throughout the country, with a more even spread of demand across the year.
Tourism Ireland promotes regional air and sea access to Ireland in overseas tourism markets through initiatives such as the Regional Cooperative Market Access Scheme, which seeks to encourage new access and maximise the potential of existing services to the regions, including with matched funding from airlines, sea carriers, airports, ports and regional tourism stakeholders including Local Authorities.
The delivery of the Regional Cooperative Market Access Scheme is an operational matter for Tourism Ireland. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's question to Tourism Ireland for direct reply. Please contact my private office if you have not received a reply within ten working days.
420. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the definition and conceptualisation of balanced regional development currently used to interpret and deliver the Programme for Government. [42814/24]
View answerThe National Planning Framework (NPF), 2018 is the long-term, 20-year strategy for strategic planning and sustainable development of our urban and rural areas to 2040, with the core objectives of securing balanced regional development and a sustainable ‘compact growth’ approach to the form and pattern of future development. The objective of the NPF in relation to balanced regional development is defined in the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) in section 20B in the context of ‘maximising the potential’ of regions, as follows:
“to secure balanced regional development by maximising the potential of the regions, and support proper planning and sustainable development.”
The Programme for Government (‘Our Shared Future’) identifies the centrality of the National Planning Framework to the implementation of more balanced regional development and aims to “ensure that policy and planning across Government, in relation to the future provision of services and infrastructure, will be fully aligned with the National Planning Framework to ensure balanced and sustainable development in Ireland over the next 20 years”.
The NPF, together with the National Development Plan 2021 (NDP), combine to form Project Ireland 2040, the overarching planning and investment framework for the social, economic and cultural development of Ireland. The funding of infrastructure projects, with specific public investment projects to support and promote a greater balance in regional development identified, is facilitated by the NDP.
A cornerstone policy of the National Planning Framework (NPF) is the achievement of a greater regional balance in population and employment growth. The goal is to see a roughly 50:50 distribution of growth between the Eastern and Midland region, and the respective Southern, and Northern and Western Regions.
The NPF informs a spatial hierarchy of plans that cascade to regional and local levels, through the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs) for the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly area and the city and county development plans for each of the 31 local authorities. Since the adoption of the NPF in 2018, the regional strategies and the majority of local authority development plans have been reviewed and updated to align with the NPF.
421. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details for all capital plans for the development of fire services in Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43423/24]
View answer422. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the Portumna fire station; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43415/24]
View answer431. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the fire services earmarked for development over the next five years in County Galway; the estimated funding associated with each planned development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42639/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 421, 422 and 431 together.
The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act 1981 & 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.
In December 2020, I announced the Fire Services Capital Programme for the period 2021-2025, with a funding allocation of €61m. Following extensive engagement with fire authorities, a number of proposals for station works etc. were received. The proposals were evaluated and prioritised on the basis of the:
Area Risk Categorisation of the fire station (population, fire risks, etc.);
established Health and Safety needs;
state of development of the project;
value for money offered by the proposal; and
the totality of requests from all authorities.
The 2021 - 2025 Programme was projected to see six new fire stations built, continued support for the construction of a further 12 new fire stations, nine fire station refurbishments as well as the allocation of 35 new fire appliances. Continued investment in the fire appliance fleet has been identified as a key national priority; that is why, in October 2023, I announced the allocation of an additional 40 new fire appliances at a cost of €20.8m.
My Department has not received a proposal from Galway County Council for a fire station project for Portumna. Any future capital programme will have regard to Galway County Council’s priorities and the totality of requests from fire authorities countrywide for funding in considering any proposal.
Two fire stations, Athenry and Loughrea, prioritised by Galway County Council, have been included in the 2021 – 2025 Capital programme.
Athenry fire station received approval to accept a tender for construction with a projected build cost of €2.48 million in November 2022. I understand construction of this project is now complete with an expected official opening ceremony to take place in November 2024.
In October 2021, Galway County Council received approval to proceed to invite tenders to appoint a design team and progress to full design and cost plan stage for a new fire station at Loughrea at an indicative build cost projected - at that time - of €1.26 million. I understand the Council is currently at planning stage of this project.
In the lifetime of the 2021 – 2025 Fire Services Capital Programme, to date Galway Fire Service has received €1.233 million in capital funding to support the purchase of front-line appliances and equipment including funding for the allocation of a new Class B fire tender under the 2021 – 2023 Office of Government Procurement (OGP) framework.
Galway Fire Service has also received funding approval for approximately €2.2 million to support the planned purchase of appliances and equipment as detailed below, including a new 42m aerial appliance and a further allocation of two new Class B fire tenders under the 2023 – 2025 OGP Framework. My Department awaits claims for payment from Galway County Council in this regard.
|
Application Number |
Category |
Description |
|
2024-13 |
App & Equip |
Mid-Sized replacement fire appliance (Inis Mór) |
|
2024-23 |
App & Equip |
Replacement Incident Command Unit |
|
2024-25 |
App & Equip |
Remotely Operated Vehicle (Transport Support) |
|
2024-26 |
App & Equip |
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Remote Detection Equipment |
|
2023-17 |
App & Equip |
42m High Reach Aerial Appliance |
|
2023-103 |
App & Equip |
Trailer mounted lighting units x3 |
|
2023-104 |
App & Equip |
Battery Operated Rescue Tools Sets x13 |
|
2023-110 |
App & Equip |
Diesel Engine Truck |
|
2023-124 |
App & Equip |
6 Ramfan EX50-Li plus chargers |
|
2023-130 |
App & Equip |
Support Van (Inis Mór) |
|
2023-75 |
App & Equip |
2023 - 2025 Class B OGP Framework |
|
2023-78 |
App & Equip |
2023 - 2025 Class B OGP Framework |
423. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the necessity for BA Communications for fire fighters to communicate with each other over radio in a fire emergency; when this essential equipment will be rolled out through Dublin Fire Brigade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42423/24]
View answerThe provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Service Acts, 1981 & 2003.
My Department supports fire authorities through general policy-setting and preparing legislation, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects, appliances and equipment.
In February 2024, my Department approved a tender competition for the national procurement of handheld radios, with Dublin City Council acting as the lead contracting authority. Each local authority fire service is named in the tender document to allow them to draw down from it should they so wish.
I understand that, following an extensive procurement process, a tender competition was recently completed with a preferred supplier selected.
Dublin City Council, as the lead contracting authority, is managing this procurement process and it will be a matter for the Dublin City Councils and all local authorities to manage their own draw downs from the framework to meet their needs.
424. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a substantive reply has issued to a constituent in Donegal to his email communication of 30 September 2024 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42447/24]
View answerI can confirm that a reply to this correspondence has issued from my Department.
The response provided details on the issues raised including standards, the conveyancing processes, quarry regulation, concrete manufacturing, and construction product regulation.
