Results 18,921-18,940 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The CLÁR Programme provides funding for small-scale projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population over a defined period. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a wide range of measures. A review of CLÁR areas nationally was undertaken in 2021 using the 2016 Census of Population data. The review examined the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is one of a series of national and local support measures designed to rejuvenate small rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. The Scheme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 as part of Our Rural Future. Since the launch of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in 2016, over €113 million has been allocated to more than 1,400 projects across...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development launched last year, which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. €250m has been made available for LEADER for the period 2021 to 2027. This is comprised of €70 million for the transitional period 2021 to 2022...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development for the period 2021-2025, which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. €250m has been made available for LEADER for the period 2021 to 2027. This is comprised of €70 million for the transitional period 2021 to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Public Transport (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Our Rural Future is the government's national rural development policy. It sets out an ambitious blueprint for the development of, and investment in, rural Ireland over a five-year period. It is a whole-of-Government policy, and the more than 160 measures set out within it are being delivered by the Departments with responsibility for the relevant policy areas, including the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Derelict Sites (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department implements a number of schemes which can address the issue raised by the Deputy. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is one of a series of national and local support measures designed to rejuvenate small rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. The Scheme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 as part of Our Rural Future. The 2022 Scheme placed particular emphasis on projects...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The CLÁR programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. The programme was re-launched in 2016 following a number of years when the scheme was closed to new applications. Measures to be included in the CLÁR programme are reviewed and revised each year, as appropriate. CLÁR has made significant...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Policies (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The issue of isolation in rural and urban communities cuts across the work of a number of Departments. The need to address isolation in communities was highlighted more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. My Department provides funding to tackle isolation and support those in our communities in most need of assistance through schemes such as the Social Inclusion and Community Activation...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Official Engagements (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Ireland was proud to host the 13th OECD Rural Development Conference in Cavan from 28-30 September of this year. It was the first time this prestigious event has taken place in Ireland, and brought together approximately 400 policymakers, practitioners and rural stakeholders from across the OECD member states. The Conference featured a series of wide-ranging discussions to identify...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Island Communities (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, responsibility for the maintenance and development of the infrastructure on the islands referred to lies primarily with the relevant Local Authority and/or relevant utility companies. The Government's objective is that sustainable, vibrant communities can continue to live on all our inhabited offshore islands. My Department recognises that for this to be...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Road Projects (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme, or LIS, supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. Rural connectivity is an important element in Our Rural Future.Such roads represent a vital piece of infrastructure for rural residents - providing access to people’s homes and farms, as well as outdoor amenities such as lakes, rivers or...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Town Centre First Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. Key to this, is the establishment of the National Implementation Office to assist in the delivery and implementation of the policy, and to co-ordinate stakeholder engagement at a national level. It is also responsible for coordinating the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Recreation Policy (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as trails, walkways, cycleways, blueways and bridleways in rural areas. Earlier this year, I launched the 2022 Scheme with a budget of €15 million to support outdoor recreation projects nationwide. The Measures being funded under this...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Flexible Work Practices (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 127, 130 and 138 together. Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy was launched in early 2021. The policy recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and the potential of remote working hubs as key economic assets for our rural towns and villages. My Department operates a number of funding schemes that...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Harbours and Piers (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy is aware, Galway County Council is the responsible authority for the maintenance and development of pier infrastructure on the Aran Islands. A steering committee consisting of representatives from my Department, Galway County Council and the consulting engineers meets regularly to monitor progress. Earlier this year, Galway County Council sought quotations from environmental...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Island Communities (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is committed to publishing a 10 year policy on island development with associated three year action plans. Indeed the Programme for Government includes a commitment in this regard and, as Minister with responsibility for the islands, I am determined to ensure the policy is delivered. The Government’s ambition for a national policy and action...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme was first introduced in 2016. It is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. The Scheme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 as part of Our Rural Future. The Scheme is targeted at towns and villages with a population of 10,000 or less. It is managed on behalf of my Department by the local authorities....

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Recreation Policy (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In May this year, I announced €15 million of funding for Coillte as part of a new five year strategic partnership between my Department and Coillte to enhance outdoor recreational facilities on Coillte-owned land and to support increased tourism and economic activity in rural areas. This builds on the previous 5 year agreement which provided funding of €11 million over the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The LEADER programme is a key intervention implemented by my Department, which will help to underpin the Government's rural development goals as outlined in Our Rural Future. It forms part of Ireland's €10bn Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan, which was approved by Government earlier this month. Funding is provided for the duration of the period rather than on an annual...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Tidy Towns (27 Oct 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Supervalu TidyTowns competition is a unique community movement which has a huge impact on our communities throughout Ireland. It is an extremely effective and important sustainability initiative in Ireland, both from an environmental and community perspective. It encourages communities to improve their local environment and make their area a better place to live, work and visit. The...