My question today is about the new Cork city library. Four years ago, the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, announced €50 million would be spent transforming Grand Parade and providing a new public library, a new central plaza and a boardwalk. The vision was big. We were promised a new 7,700 sq. m library with capacity for 1 million visitors per year, but like so many other key capital projects for Cork, the Government has failed to deliver. The promised new library is nowhere to be seen. In the four years since, inflation has soared and the project is now short. The current library is not fit for purpose. The roof leaks and parts of the building have been closed to the public. Cork deserves a world-class library - a cultural and community space in the heart of the city. A 21st-century library could be more than a library of books; it could be a library of things. Will the Minister engage with Cork City Council on this key project and, crucially, will he provide the additional funding required to deliver this world-class library for Cork city?

I am extremely proud of the quality of libraries that are opening up across our country. I am proud of their beauty and the essential role they play. I believe libraries are cradles of decency and learning. We have shown that in our investment in our library programme in recent years.

On the particular library referenced by the Deputy in Cork, we need local authorities to make decisions on the allocation of funding and the projects that they wish to prioritise. As the Deputy says, I can imagine that the cost has gone up because of construction inflation. All public and private construction projects have had to confront that. I will make sure the Minister for housing and local government is made aware of this. He has many competing demands at the moment but he and the Government are doing their best to manage them. We have made good progress with libraries in our country and we will continue to do this. I am proud of them. We need more of them.