Minister urged to provide capital funding for new library building in Mahon

THE Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, has urged the minister for rural and community development, Heather Humphreys, to provide the capital funding that is needed for a new library building in Mahon.

Speaking in the Daíl recently, Mr Ó Laoghaire said: “I have a particular interest in the proposed library and youth centre that is proposed for the Mahon area in my constituency.

“Our libraries do a great deal of work, and much of it is unheralded.

“People think of books and so on, but it is often the place where people who do not have access to printers have their forms printed out.

“People have access to e-books and audiobooks, which is a crucial thing. They are unsung heroes of the public service, in many ways.”

He said there are a number of locations across the State where there is a large and growing population, especially a growing young population, where there is a complete lack of provision.

“One of those places is in my constituency, in the south east of the city in the Mahon-Blackrock area,” said Mr Ó Laoghaire.

“That ward does not have a library at the moment. Large parts of it have a young population.

“The current proposal also includes a youth centre. It is a long-standing demand. A site has been identified, but there is a concern that if a request is put in for €10m, €12m, or something in that region, there will not be adequate capital funding once all the smaller projects come out.

“The intention in many cases is that libraries need to be located with youth services. That would be brilliant for the Mahon community, which is a community with a lot of young people and which has a lot of challenges.

“It would have been a Rapid area where those designations existed. This would also serve the Blackrock and Ballinlough area nearby too.

“On the funding, I think another envelope could be looked at for larger capital projects.”