Results 3,481-3,500 of 7,283 for speaker:Josepha Madigan

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Animal Diseases (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: As a Minister, I will not have it on my conscience that I could be responsible for exterminating - for want of a better word - the entire hare population. I understand the ICC's concerns. We have worked with the ICC and we are working with it now. When officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine meet...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Animal Diseases (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: Another few hares are already with the laboratories. They are being tested. It is a very expensive test. We are waiting to hear the results. We are also looking at another three or four hares that have been found. This is something that has the potential to wipe out the hare population completely. I am not going to stand over that, despite any issues. It is my own party, so out of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Animal Diseases (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: There are people in my party who want to see that happen. In all good conscience, I cannot do that, based on the scientific evidence. What Dr. Ferdia Marnell, head of animal ecology at the National Parks and Wildlife Service-----

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Animal Diseases (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: I take this very seriously, but my hands are tied at the moment and I regret that is the case from the Deputies' perspective. That is how it is.

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Waterways Ireland (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: Waterways Ireland is responsible for the management, maintenance, development and restoration of 1,000 km of the inland navigable waterway system throughout the island, principally for recreational purposes, including the Lower Bann Navigation, the Erne System, the Shannon-Erne Waterway, the Shannon Navigation, the Grand Canal, the Royal Canal and the Barrow Navigation Waterways Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: The Taoiseach has indicated that a new simplified process is being put in place to ensure certainty over the levels of funding and delivery mechanisms for the centre referred to by the Deputy, which will provide a substantial addition to the cultural offering in Cork City and County when it is complete.  Under the new arrangements it is intended that responsibility for oversight of...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Surveys (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: There are two species of seal in Irish waters - the Harbour or Common Seal and the more numerous Grey Seal. Both are protected under the EU Habitats Directive and Ireland is obliged to maintain their numbers at a favourable conservation level. We are also required to monitor their populations and report to the European Commission on their conservation status. A standardised monitoring...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Heritage Sites (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: To be included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, sites or properties of natural and/or cultural heritage must be of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and meet at least one out of a list of ten eligibility criteria. Ireland currently has two World Heritage Sites, one of which, Brú na Bóinne, is located in Co. Meath. UNESCO’s website, provides an interactive map of...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Wildlife Control (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: RHD2 has been present in domestic pet rabbits in Ireland for a number of years. It was first confirmed in the wild in Ireland in July 2019. The first two records came from rabbits – one in Wicklow, the other in Clare. The first report from an Irish hare came on the 9th August – an animal found dying in the Wexford Slobs Nature Reserve. Since these initial incidents, a...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Capital Expenditure Programme (1 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the capital projects valued in excess of €10m completed by my Department since 1st January 2014 is set out in the following table. Project Initial Contract Value Final Cost Phase 3 of the Master Development Plan of the National Gallery of Ireland including refurbishment of the Dargan and Milltown Wings (Awarded 2014...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Waterways Ireland Funding (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: The allocation from my Department's Vote for Waterways Ireland  for 2019 is €25.117m. The estimated amount it would cost in 2020 if the budget for Waterways  Ireland is increased by 9% is therefore €2.260m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: I congratulate the Chairman on his recent appointment and wish him every success in his role. As Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the committee regarding the 2019 mid-year review of expenditure for my Department. The functions and responsibilities of my Department are many and diverse, ranging from support for the arts and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: I will deal with the culture question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: I will have no difficulty in dealing with heritage questions when we come to the next section. The Deputies can ask anything they like. Specifically with reference to culture, we fund numerous projects in County Cork. Most recently, we announced an allocation of €350,000 for the Briery Gap Culture Centre which, as the Deputy knows, closed for a number of years following a fire....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: I will answer the heritage question after dealing with the questions about culture. Insurance cover does not come within my remit, but it is a source of concern for the Government. We are doing everything we can to look at it. We offer support to festivals under the small summer festival scheme run by the Department. Anybody is entitled to apply on an annual basis and grants are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: I will work backwards. If I leave anything out, the Deputy can refresh my memory. She asked a number of questions about various topics. With reference to Galway 2020, as I mentioned in my opening statement, next year will be significant, and not just for Galway. The Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, has a particular interest in the issue. It will also be a significant year for Ireland...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: We would be most happy to engage with them and see if we can pursue options with them because it does sound like a very positive development that they have out there. I have no difficulty doing that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Deputy for her comments. She asked me if we are satisfied with how the Creative Ireland programme is going. I believe it going from strength to strength. It is working right across Government with the aim of embedding creativity across public policy ultimately and supporting and enabling participation in creative activities. The Senator and Deputy Brendan Smith mentioned the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: Under the creative communities element of the programme, there were nearly 1,600 initiatives over the initial two years covering a range of genres, art, theatre, music, outreach training and capacity building, and that plan was a major success. There were a further 500 specific projects supporting this element, which was quite good. In Roscommon, a project funded through the creative...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Mid-Year Review: Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 Oct 2019)

Josepha Madigan: The Senator asked about the import of the Galway 2020 programme in terms of the rest of the country. Obviously, that is something we want to ensure happens. While Galway 2020 will be located in the county and city of Galway it is for Ireland and for everybody to engage in it. We hope public representatives like the Senator will support the events because lifting one boat lifts all of us...