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Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: -----that is not correct. I do not know if the Deputy was listening but I told her that local authorities received €1 million. That is a lot of money for local authorities.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The committee has all of that. I just want that message to go out. It is not the case that €5 million was spent on public relations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: More than €38.6 million has been provided in 2017 to support the two North-South implementation bodies: An Foras Teanga, comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency, and Waterways Ireland. These provisions are also subject to the approval of the North-South Ministerial Council. Total gross expenditure for programme D up to 30 June 2017 was €16.192 million, or 42%...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: No. There is no executive in the North, so I have had no meetings.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Waterways Ireland and Foras na Gaeilge are continuing to operate. Waterways Ireland is continuing to invest in its projects. We have continued to fund it from our side. I think the biggest chunk of Waterways Ireland's budget comes from my Department. I understand the civil servants are given certain temporary powers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I am not sure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: No. I understand that no Minister from Westminster with responsibility for that has been appointed. I do not have a counterpart in Northern Ireland whom I can speak. My officials will continue to meet their counterparts in the North when needed. That is it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is right about the Ulster Canal project: it is very important, bringing it to Clones especially important, and I know that when the Deputy was Minister in the Department, he had a proposal for a commercial building to be sold. However, property prices then collapsed. The Ulster Canal is a priority for me and I am delighted we got it started. I got approval to start the project...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: It is a 2.5 km stretch to Castle Saunderson.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The funding was allocated to the rural side for this year. As for the spend, the Minister, Deputy Ring, as Deputy Ó Cuív knows, now has responsibility for the rural brief. In fairness to Deputy Ring, he recently announced the local improvement scheme, LIS, under which €10 million will be spent, and today he has allocated the town and village enhancement programmes. When...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: However, I do know that that funding is for rural projects and that the Minister is committed to spending it on rural projects. To discuss the rural development and rural affairs part of the Vote, which has gone to the new Department, perhaps the committee could invite the Minister, Deputy Ring, to appear before it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates For Public Services 2017: Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (4 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy might be aware that last May, while Leader was under my responsibility, I met all the Leader companies. We met in the National Concert Hall, I listened to all of their concerns and, as a result of that, 31 actions were changed on the advice of the Leader companies. They said that these issues need to be addressed, and we did address them. Since then, the process has sped up in...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Special Areas of Conservation Management (10 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy is aware, the location in question is within a National Park, a Biosphere Reserve, Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area. The identification and development of an alternative site in the proximity of the lake would thus be extremely challenging and would be subject to screening for appropriate assessment, a full environment assessment and also planning...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Waterways Ireland Staff (10 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I have been informed by Waterways Ireland that it has a full complement of Civil Engineering staff working on the North and Mid Shannon navigations.

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Waterways Ireland Staff (10 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 251 together. I am informed by Waterways Ireland that it undertakes recruitment campaigns throughout the year when required. The recent job advertisement seeking to fill ten positions was part of Waterways Ireland’s ongoing recruitment to vacant positions in 2017. On that occasion one of the positions was located in Ireland with the rest...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Hare Coursing Regulation (10 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The current Condition No 5 of the Licence under Section 34 of the Wildlife Act, 1976 (as amended) issued by my Department to the club referred to by the Deputy to capture hares provides that “details of the numbers and locations of the capture of all hares made by the coursing clubs listed in the schedule attached hereto shall be made to the relevant conservation ranger, on or before...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Hare Coursing (10 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The total number of courses run during the years in question were as follows: 8,811 during the 2014/15 season; 8,408 during the 2015/16 season and 8,278 during the 2016/17 season. To date in the 2017/18 season, four coursing meetings have been held and I am awaiting reports on these meetings. A more detailed breakdown of the statistics is available on the website of the National Parks and...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Hare Coursing (10 Oct 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Of the total Departmental staff, 330 work in the area of natural heritage in the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department. In addition, my Department takes on about 70 seasonal staff during the year to assist the NPWS. Frontline conservation Rangers are deployed through a regional structure and assignments are determined in light of Departmental business needs and...