Results 12,081-12,100 of 15,805 for speaker:Michael Ring

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The Deputy should listen. People took the packages. They were given the opportunity.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: They got the packages. Let us be honest about what is happening and stop the nonsense about post offices.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: I will give an example. There was a post office in my own county where 500 people turned up at a public meeting. I am going to tell the Deputy how many of them bought television licences. There were 352 families and just 52 television licences were bought in that post office for that year. Either one of two things happened. They either had no licences, which I do not believe-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: -----or they went elsewhere to get their licences. If they want to keep rural post offices open, they will have to start using them, and not go to public meetings.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: In fairness, a post office was advertised twice and they could not get anyone to take it.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The hypocrisy sickens me. Fianna Fáil closed many post offices and we closed very few.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The Deputy asked what I did. I provided €80,000 last year to examine where we can get more services for post offices. Let us take the example of motor tax. Nearly 88% of people now tax their cars online. We need to give post offices more services that people will use. People are living in the modern age. They have their computers and the Internet.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Closures (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: They want to do business in a different way. I want to keep as many post offices open as possible. However, I would say to the general public that if they want their post office and their small local shop open, and if they want services in rural Ireland, they have to start using them and they cannot pass the door every day. When that lady called the public meeting in Mayo, 300 or 400...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42, 45 and 51 together. The first call for applications for the rural regeneration and development fund closed at the end of September. Some €1 billion is committed to the fund over a ten-year period to support rural economic development and help build strong communities, with €55 million allocated to the fund in budget 2019. There was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: It might have been Deputy Martin Kenny and others who stated we would never open the fund.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: I also heard complaints that we would not allocate the money and then I heard complaints that it would never happen. It happened. Let us be honest and fair about it. There are 18 shovel-ready projects. Shovel-ready status is one of the key elements of the programme. There are many projects which would not have been able to advance but for the funding put in place. Some of the other...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The Deputy is quite correct. The great thing about this scheme is that any State agency or local authority working with community groups can make an application. There are a number of ways to get matching funding. Údarás, local authorities and other State agencies, including the Western Development Commission and LEADER companies, have come in. As Minister, the major complaint I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: To be fair, it is one of the things I am looking at. The Deputy is correct. As with the town and village scheme or the outdoor recreation scheme, if one does not spend in advance, one will have a difficulty. Category 2 will provide seed funding for projects and I expect a lot of it will be drawn down quickly. Some of the schemes are shovel-ready. Those behind one €4 million...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: While I cannot commit to that, I can commit to ensuring that there will be a substantial spend. I have to see what projects are actually shovel-ready. My problem is that they must be ready to go. Category 2 will be an easier scheme because it is seed funding. People thought the scheme would not happen but it did and it is a good one. The Deputy should be happy that his constituency did...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: CLÁR Programme (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The CLÁR programme was originally launched in October 2001 to provide for targeted investment in disadvantaged rural areas. The areas originally selected for inclusion in the programme were those which suffered the greatest population decline from 1926 to 1996. The Cooley Peninsula was also included, on the basis of the serious difficulties caused in that area by foot and mouth...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: CLÁR Programme (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He has raised it before. My first priority was to get the programme opened again, which I did. To be fair, using the census figures we are using does not really make sense. I now need to do the review. I want it done quickly. I need to look at ways and means. There might be other issues, such as the one the Deputy has just raised, we need to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: CLÁR Programme (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: As already stated, the review process has commenced. I have the views of well-respected researchers from Maynooth University but I also want to talk to people on the ground. I want to talk to the practical operators who operate some of these schemes. As I said, the one thing I like about the CLÁR programme is that difficulties can be identified and schemes can be created to help and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Western Development Commission (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is dealing with Question No. 47.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Action Plan for Rural Development (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The pilot scheme to encourage people to return to living in town centres was launched on 11 October 2018. A Steering Group, chaired by my Department, was established earlier this year to examine the issue, and a lot of consideration was given by the Group to the best approach to developing a model which would deliver on the objective of increasing town centre living. The Steering Group...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: LEADER Programmes Administration (11 Dec 2018)

Michael Ring: The LEADER programme has made a huge contribution to supporting rural areas and rural communities for many years. As is the case with many EU-funded programmes, certain procedures must be followed to ensure transparency and accountability. However, I am committed to making the application process for LEADER in Ireland as efficient as possible for community groups. My Department engages...