Results 11,001-11,020 of 15,805 for speaker:Michael Ring

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Greenways Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: I will give an honest reply: I do. I believe it should be. The Deputy and I, and every rural Deputy, know that this Department deals daily with farmers and landowners. It is the Department that should be dealing with them. We asked the National Roads Authority, as it was then known, to deal with the greenway from Dublin to Galway and we saw what happened. It thought it was dealing with...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Greenways Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The Deputy and I know that having total control of the land makes that easier, whether it is owned by local authorities or the State. We saw that in respect of Coillte because when Government needs its land for greenways or walkways it is easier to get it. I would prefer that we could buy and control all the accesses in respect of walkways, greenways and blueways. Sometimes it is not...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Greenways Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The Deputy and I know that the economy was not in a very good situation for the past ten years.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Greenways Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: Now that the country’s finances are improving, I would not mind considering that but I want to see more walkways, greenways and more people being active and more visitors enjoying our countryside. They are beginning to do that. The Deputy knows - he was part of the Government that started this - that the walkways and greenways have been a great success. It was the one thing that...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Ministerial Responsibilities (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The Taoiseach’s decision to establish the Department of Rural and Community Development underlines the Government’s commitment to ensuring that the economic recovery can be felt by every community and that we can create a sustainable future for rural Ireland. In respect of the various areas to which the Deputy's question referred, the Leader 2020 programme provides a...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Ministerial Responsibilities (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: As the Deputy knows, the key objective of the Action Plan for Rural Ireland, which we announced last year, was to create jobs in rural Ireland. As the Deputy knows, the CSO figures for the first quarter showed that over 70% of the approximately 135,000 jobs created in Ireland last year were created outside of Dublin. The Deputy asked about other schemes. They include the town and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Road Projects Status (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: An application for funding for the project referred to by the Deputy was submitted to my Department by Galway County Council under the local improvement scheme in September 2017. The local improvement scheme supports improvement works on private, non-public roads to improve access for people who live or work along these roads. I understand the project in question relates to a public road; it...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Road Projects Status (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: I can sense the Deputy's frustration. I know that there have been public meetings held about the condition of the road. I also know that the Deputy met the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, during the summer. I introduced the local improvement scheme because of people like the Deputy, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Road Projects Status (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: I can again sense the Deputy's frustration. I will personally do as she asks and write a letter to the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross. I will also contact Galway County Council. We did write to it to tell it that the road did not for qualify for funding under the local improvement scheme. To be fair, I introduced the scheme. I facilitated road access to community facilities to try to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Regional Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The deprivation index to which the Deputy is referring measures the relative affluence or disadvantage of areas within the State. It is used by my Department and other Departments and State agencies as an aid to direct funding to where it is most needed. Within the 2016 index, County Wexford was classified as marginally below average, with a score of −4.8. This is the third...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Regional Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: I have outlined the position on the SICAP. As I stated, Wexford is getting the funding it is getting based on the deprivation index and the report we get from Pobal. I hope the SICAP will target the disadvantaged areas. As I said earlier to Deputy Ó Cuív, it is important that the funding be targeted at areas that really need it. I acknowledge there is a difficulty regarding...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Regional Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: I agree with the Deputies about Wexford. I had not been in Wexford for several years but spent two weeks on holiday there this summer. I felt people could have bought more into Ireland's Ancient East, like the Wild Atlantic Way. I was impressed by my holiday in Wexford. I did many of the tours in the area and spent a few nights in some of the local restaurants along the quays. Wexford is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Regional Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: There are many social problems in Wexford like everywhere else. Wexford, however, has great potential. I have no doubt it will reach its full potential in the years ahead.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Action Plan for Rural Development (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The Action Plan for Rural Development was published in January 2017 and contains 276 actions for delivery across a range of Government Departments, State agencies and other organisations to support the economic and social progress of rural Ireland.  One of the key objectives of the Action Plan is to bring high speed broadband to every premises in Ireland through the roll out of the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Leader Programmes Funding (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: LEADER is a multi-annual programme covering the period 2014-2020, with a total budget of €250 million over that period.  €220 million of this funding has already been allocated to the Local Action Groups throughout the country which deliver the LEADER programme.  The remaining €30 million is available for schemes which will be delivered at a national level....

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Dog Breeding Industry (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: Responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014, including the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010, transferred to the Department of Rural and Community Development in July 2017. Under the Control of Dogs Acts, local authorities are responsible for operating and managing dog control and licensing services in their administrative areas. The Control of Dogs Act 1986 outlines...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The previous Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, or SICAP, ended on 31stDecember 2017, with the next programme rolling out for a 5 year period from 1stJanuary 2018 to 31stDecember 2022.  The new programme, as with the last one, was the subject of a public procurement process conducted by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) under the remit of the Local...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Dormant Accounts Fund (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The most recent full-year information available to me on the Dormant Accounts Fund from the National Treasury Management Agency relates to 2016. Over the five year period 2012 to 2016, the gross inflow of monies into the Dormant Accounts Fund totalled some €256 million. Over the same period, outflows from the Fund totalled just over €140 million. The impact of these...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Dormant Accounts Fund (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The legislation governing the Dormant Accounts Funds provides a framework for the disbursement of funds for measures targeted at socially, economically and educationally disadvantage people, and people with a disability. The funding is allocated through a three-year Disbursement Scheme, underpinned by annual Action Plans which set out specific programmes to be funded each year.   My...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework (16 Jan 2018)

Michael Ring: The development of the National Planning Framework (NPF) is led by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.  Since the establishment of my Department in July 2017, my officials have participated on a Cross Departmental Steering Group led by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, to provide inputs to the NPF. In the context of this Steering Group and...