Gabh mo leithscéal, duine amháin.

Má tá na Teachtaí ag iarraidh gearán nó comhrá a dhéanamh lena chéile, is féidir leo dul amach. Tá an tAire ina sheasamh agus ag críochnú na díospóireachta.

Bhí sé geallta go dtabharfaí cumhachtaí nua d’Údarás na Gaeltachta. Bhí sé geallta ó 2021 go bhfoilseofaí treoirlínte pleanála do thithe sa Ghaeltacht chomh maith. Dúradh linn ag an am go raibh na treoirlínte sin beagnach réidh, ach fós níl siad ann. Níl ceachtar de na gealltanais sin comhlíonta agus tá muintir na Gaeltachta thíos leis dá bharr gan tithíocht do lánúineacha nó clainne nua. Cén fáth ar gá dúinn fanacht go dtí 2027 ar ráiteas náisiúnta phleanáil Ghaeltachta? Cén uair a bheas Céim na Tuarascála don Bhi…

Gabh mo leithscéal.

Gabh mo leithscéal, a Aire.

Tá sé in am anois an leasú seo a chur. Is féidir leis an Aire agus an Teachta Dála na fadhbanna atá acu a réiteach thar na gcéad píosaí eile. Tá cúpla uair a chloig againn istigh anseo.

Bogfaimid ar aghaidh go dtí leasú Uimh. 4, arising out of committee proceedings. Amendments Nos. 4 and 11 are related and will be discussed together.

Tá baint ag leasuithe Uimh. 5 agus 6 le chéile agus pléifear le chéile iad.

We are not in government so we are not breaking our promises.

We are not in government.

The Tánaiste is encouraging it.

Tairgim leasú Uimh. 25: In page 68, line 26, to delete “appropriate,”,” and substitute the following: “appropriate, (vii) a condition that the qualifying company shall, in respect of the qualifying film concerned, comply fully with the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 and the Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019, (viii) a condition that the qualifying company shall make every effort to ensure that performers, writers, composers, artists and other film workers r…

On the last point, in some ways I agree with the Minister that laws cannot be disapplied but the problem is the frustration for people when the law is being ignored. The point Deputy Ó Murchú was making is that one of the problems is that to avail of section 481, companies are set up, which then disappear, so the Minister does not have recourse to chase after them after the fact. When artists try to start a process - and the courts move very slowly - at that stage the production is completed and the vehicle that wa…

I hear the reluctance, which has been there all along, to add conditionality to section 481. There is an acknowledgement of changes in a flourishing industry. We need to make sure that while it flourishes the message goes out from here, from the Government and from Revenue that any attempts to mislead will not be tolerated in any shape or form. This applies to only one or two companies, but it seems to be a habit to try to bypass the EU copyright directive in any way or force artists to waive their hard won rights …

This question is prompted by the situation the Ireland women's national basketball team found itself in because it was forced to play against an aggressor nation team, namely Israel. The question relates to the details of the engagement the Department had with Basketball Ireland over the past six months while this topic was being discussed.

I presume the Minister of State would have been aware, or at least Basketball Ireland would have made him aware, of the predicament it was in and what it was facing in terms of playing an international fixture and that it was being threatened with fines up to €180,000 if it did not go ahead with such a match. This is despite the fact the international governing body for the sport, FIBA, had taken a different stance with regard to Ukraine and Russia in 2022. In fact, Basketball Ireland was ahead of the game because …

We can have a discussion about Israel and genocide but that is not the purpose of this. International fixtures against genocidal nations is not a matter for the national sporting bodies alone. If Ireland had taken a stronger stance, and if the sporting body had gone ahead with a fixture against the Government's position then, I think, the Minister of State would have a different approach here. However, the match went ahead and, regrettably, the Irish team lost but there is a further match in March of next year. The…

This question relates to the estimated costs for the welcome redevelopment of Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, one of the highlights for tourists visiting the city. The cost has increased substantially since the original forecast. Will the Minister outline the changes in design that have caused the increase?

Initially, the contractor was supposed to have been selected at the start of this year. What is the delay? Is the contractor signed, sealed and guaranteed to start work now that the gallery is closed? Obelisk of Bronze by Michael Warren was removed recently, which signalled the closure of the gallery for three years. As the Minister said, in 2020 the estimated cost was €28 million. What is the point in having an estimated cost if no design work or proper planning is done? We have now arrived at a figure of €93 mill…

Perhaps we will address the fact that it is the only cultural institution outside of Dublin in the future and can examine how to make sure there are other national institutions outside of Dublin rather than concentrate all of them in one city. Costs have increased substantially. The gallery renovation will add an extra 50% in terms of space for exhibitions and so on. A lot of work will be done to make the gallery accessible in the future. Even a 40% increase in construction inflation would only bring the cost to €4…