NEWS

The Minister states: I launched the new accelerating infrastructure task force on Friday 16 May. At the task force's first meeting, the terms of reference were agreed and there was a discussion of the work plan of the Department's newly established infrastructure division over the coming months. Primarily, the role of the task force is to provide its members' expertise and guidance to assist my Department's work programme of identifying and addressing barriers to the delivery

The Minister states: The Government data centre initiative is led by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, OGCIO, a division within my Department. It is an action item in the Government’s public service ICT strategy and aims to deliver and centrally support ICT as a shared service rather than have common technical solutions in each public sector body. The Government data centre project will deliver high-quality, energy efficient data centre facilities which

The Minster states: A broad range of factors influence staff recruitment and retention. As a result of Ireland's significant economic growth, unemployment is low and labour market conditions remain tight. Labour and skills shortages are presenting recruitment and retention challenges for employers across the labour market, including the civil and public service. Despite this, staff numbers in the public sector have continued to grow significantly. Between 2015 and quarter 1 o

The Minister states: My Department works to serve the country, its people and the Government by delivering well-managed and well-targeted public spending, delivered through modernised, effective and accountable public services. The process around outsourcing set out in the public service pay agreement states that where outsourcing is being considered in respect of an existing service, both official and staff sides will consult on the development of a service plan which evalua

The Minister states: The publication of the internal audit report by the OPW, following the review of projects costing €500,000 and under is welcome. It follows a commitment to learn from the bike shelter project and presents the internal audit findings, control recommendations and management response. The OPW has accepted and is actively implementing all the recommendations within the report. The internal audit report enables us to focus on continuing to strengthen ways of w

The Minister states: The programme for Government significantly expanded my Department’s work on infrastructure and included the establishment of a new infrastructure division. The division's specific responsibilities and deliverables are being progressed as part of the Department's forthcoming statement of strategy, which will go to Government in advance of the summer. The key Government commitments that the infrastructure division will be responsible for delivering in the s

The Minister states: I have established the accelerating infrastructure task force to support the immediate work programme of the new infrastructure division in my Department, which is to identify and propose measures to address barriers to the delivery of strategic infrastructure across Ireland.  This issue is key priority for me and the Government.  The work programme for the task force and the new division will focus on many critical infrastructure areas in terms of the el

The Minister states: the Central Bank does not sell or oversee the sale of Israeli bonds. It is important to be clear as to the role of the Central Bank because it has been misrepresented repeatedly. To be clear again, the Central Bank's role under EU legislation is to assess the bond prospectus to ensure that it includes all the disclosure requirements of the EU prospectus regulation. Neither the issuer - in this case the State of Israel - nor the financial products become r

The Minister states: Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development. It seeks to ensure that all rural areas are attractive for people to live, work and raise their families in. One of the high-level outcomes set out in Our Rural Future is to increase the number of people living in rural areas. Rural population trends, as we discussed earlier, in line with many of the issues addressed by Our Rural Future, require input from across a range

The Minister states: The development and enhancement of community facilities is a priority for me and full details of the capital supports available are on my Department’s website. The community centre investment fund has provided in excess of €109 million since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of new centres. Under the 2024 iteration of the fund, more than €33 million has been approved to support refurbishment work

The Minister states: The town centre first policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. Central to the town centre first approach is a range of capital support funding that includes the rural regeneration and development fund and the town and village renewal scheme. Both schemes facilitate the acquisition of buildings for community use and have already delivered landmark projects which ta

The Minister states: The issue of rural isolation, especially among the elderly, is relevant to the work of several Government Departments. It is a complex issue and can undermine the physical and mental well-being of people in both rural and urban settings. Loneliness requires a wide range of responses, including health interventions, community policing, rural transport, which we discussed earlier, tackling social exclusion and addressing disadvantage. Our Rural Future is my

The Minister States: I am aware of the recent reports of rural GAA clubs facing challenges in terms of player numbers and of the importance of such clubs as focal points and hubs for our communities. I am also aware that the GAA itself is committed to working within their communities and at a national level to address such challenges via their National Demographics Committee and their county demographics officers While specific policies and supports for the GAA would fall und

The Minister states: The local improvement scheme is a vital support for rural communities to improve non-public rural roads and local laneways. Since 2017 almost €170 million has been provided by the Government to local authorities under the scheme. I will repeat that figure of €170 million. In April 2024 €40 million in funding was announced for the LIS for all local authorities for 2024 and 2025. While the Department provides funding for the scheme, it is administered by t

The Minister states: This Government recognises and values the many contributions made to society by not-for-profit, voluntary and community organisations across the country. The Department of Rural and Community Development supports the community and voluntary sector through a number of schemes, most notably the community services programme, CSP, the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, and the scheme to support volunteering. The CSP supports 428 commu

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