Results 10,181-10,200 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: LEADER Programmes (4 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: LEADER is a multi-annual programme with a budget of €250 million over the period 2014-2020. €225 million of this budget is allocated to Local Action Groups (LAGs), who deliver the programme and approve projects at local level in accordance with their Local Development Strategy (LDS). County Cork is divided into three sub regional areas for the purposes of LEADER. The total...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (4 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: In the present COVID environment the supports provided by my Department to assist communities are more important than ever to assist the economic and social recovery of these areas. Below is a list of the primary funding streams available to rural communities from my Department. The Rural Regeneration and Development Fundwas established as part of Project Ireland 2040 and will support a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Development Companies (4 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 168 together. The LEADER programme is co-funded by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The current 2014-2020 LEADER programming period concludes in December 2020. Proposals for new regulations for the CAP 2021-2027 were launched in June 2018 by the European Commission. However, given the protracted nature of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Job Creation (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Action Plan for Rural Development 2017-2019 was a whole-of-government initiative to support the economic and social progress of rural Ireland. One of the objectives of the plan was to support enterprise growth and job creation in rural areas. A key target of the action plan was to increase the number of people in employment outside of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Job Creation (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The northern and western regions have been recognised as regions in transition and I was glad to receive conformation from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, that the Northern and Western Regional Assembly will be implementing the relevant funding on behalf of the Government. That is important because we want to see funding targeted at the area. It is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Job Creation (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: On a local level, I can tell the Deputy that in Galway alone, 1,182 jobs were supported by local enterprise offices in 2019. A total of 897 jobs were supported by local enterprise offices in Roscommon. I do not have the figures for Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. The regional enterprise development fund, which comes from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Co-Working Facilities (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue which is something that I have a keen interest in. While many people are currently working from home to reduce the spread of Covid-19, recent research by the Western Development Commission, WDC, and the National University of Ireland Galway, NUIG, has highlighted a growing interest from people in continuing to work remotely in the longer term, at...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Co-Working Facilities (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The interdepartmental group has had its first meeting which I attended as I wanted to show the importance that I place in ensuring that we grasp this opportunity. As the Deputy and I am aware, remote working was a concept and aspiration this time last year. In fact there was a Cabinet meeting that was specifically looking at jobs and a big part of that was trying to get companies and people...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Co-Working Facilities (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. My Department estimates that there is likely to be in excess of 350 hubs in operation across the country. Validating the number of hubs is one of the first tasks of the interdepartmental group which, as I said, is being chaired by the Secretary General of my Department. A number of other Departments are involved in that group. This group will focus on collecting the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The current 2014- 2020 LEADER programme will come to an end this year. Under the seven-year programme, €168.7 million was allocated to the local action groups, LAGs, which deliver the programme at local level, for project approvals up to 31 December 2020. As of November, 3,530 projects with a value of over €139 million have been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. It is important to say first that there will be a transitional programme but there are many projects and therefore the LEADER companies will be very busy over the next year or year and a half in terms of finishing the projects. They have until the end of this year to make the further announcements. In terms of the figures, there are 3,500 projects approved to a value of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: No. I got an extra €4 million in my baseline. The budget for LEADER for 2020 was €40 million. There is an extra €4 million in the baseline for next year. There is a total of €44 million available next year to fund existing projects and to develop a transition programme.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: To clarify for the Deputy, funding is provided for 2021. That assumption is incorrect. There is €44 million in the budget for 2021. That €44 million will be used to fund existing LEADER commitments and provide for a transitional programme. The current LEADER programme comes to an end in December this year, but due to delays in agreeing the Common Agricultural Policy and the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: We have a transition plan.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: There is no uncertainty.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Can I be very clear?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I appreciate the Deputy is being told that because I see the letters that have been sent out to everybody.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: That is why there are so many questions on the LEADER programme coming up today. I am very happy to answer them.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: There is no uncertainty. First, they do not stop announcing projects until the end of this year so they can continue to announce projects. As I said, there are approximately 3,000 projects and they have plenty of work to do for the next year and a half. Some 3,500 core projects are approved to the value of €139 million. A further 341 projects requesting €21 million in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: For the third time, €44 million has been made available for next year to pay for existing projects and for a new transitional programme. In a number of weeks, I will be issuing a new transitional programme, following consultation with the stakeholders. The local development companies do really good work on the ground. I engage with them in my other Department, the Department of...