The Minister for Rural and Community Development has announced an investment of over €25 million in the country's library service.
Heather Humphreys made the announcement while officially opening Ireland's newest library in Kilkenny city.
The €25 million investment will pay for the delivery of 11 new library buildings as well as 12 new "next generation" mobile library vehicles.
According to the Department of Rural and Community Development, the funding represents the biggest investment in library services in years.
The event in Kilkenny saw the minister opening the €7 million-plus Mayfair Library on part of the Abbey Quarter which is being regenerated for city centre purposes.
Among the projects to be funded include a new library in Drogheda on the site of the old Dominican Church and Priory along the riverfront, a new "flagship library" in Fingal in Dublin which will also include a theatre, gallery, tourist information bureau and office space and new libraries in Ballymote, Co Sligo, Ballywaltrim, Co Wicklow, Ballybay, Co Monaghan and Clane, Co Kildare.
New mobile library vehicles, at a total cost of almost €2.7 million, will be "rolled out" in counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Roscommon, Sligo, Waterford, and Wexford.
"This goes to the heart of what we are working to achieve under our five-year rural development strategy," Ms Humphreys said, adding that investing in the library service is a "key priority" and that library staff countrywide contribute so much to the public library system.
The new Mayfair Library in Kilkenny is built on the site of a former ballroom, which once hosted performers of the ilk of Dusty Springfield, Ray Charles and Chubby Checker.
Addressing the opening, the minister quoted a song by another set of artists who graced the stage of the Mayfair in 1966, the Everly Brothers.
"All I have to do is dream," she said, pointing out that the new library was once a dream for local staff and patrons.
"Today is a historic day for the city as we open Ireland's newest library. In July 2021 we stood together when this was nothing more than a building site. This is now an absolutely wonderful facility," Ms Humphreys said.
Libraries "breathe new life" into the rural community, she said.
The Mayfair Library includes 1,800 square metres of space and includes digital areas for training and innovation along with 3D printers, 3D scanners and sewing machines as well as meeting rooms for workshops, lectures and other events.
Mayor of Kilkenny Cllr Joe Malone said over 170,000 people availed of local library services in Kilkenny last year and the opening of the new Mayfair library means there are now three in the city, the old Carnegie library beside the river remaining part of the service and the other at Loughboy.
"I've no doubt that with this facility here, the numbers are going to grow in time. I encourage everyone in the city to experience the Mayfair library and spend time here.
"This is for the people of Kilkenny and I've no doubt it will be much used and loved by the public, as the Carnegie building has been for years," he added.
