Results 221-240 of 1,028,307 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Ciarán Cannon OR speaker:Mick Barry) in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (20 Jun 2024)

Brendan Smith: 46. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if it is proposed to extend the CLÁR areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26539/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (20 Jun 2024)

Aindrias Moynihan: I understand the question is grouped with a number of questions from Deputy Brendan Smith who would have raised questions with the Minister about the Ballyhaise and Castletara areas being included in the CLÁR area. The Deputy is held up with the Good Friday committee meeting at this stage but I ask that the Minister might be able to address those points. In particular, I want to raise...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Yes, it will look at that. As I live on the Border, I am aware that there will be a ban on these dogs in Northern Ireland. It has already kicked in in the UK. It will be in place from the first week of July. We do not want to be out of kilter with Northern Ireland. There is no point in them being banned there and having a different arrangement south of the Border. However, we have to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Vacant Properties

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Carol Nolan: 37. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she accepts that there continues to be an unacceptably high level of vacancy and dereliction in many local authority areas; if she will commit to increase funding to tackle vacancy and dereliction rates in County Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26604/24]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Carol Nolan: Does the Minister accept that there continues to be high levels of vacancy and dereliction in many local authority areas? In particular, I raise my area, County Offaly, where the local authority is grappling with derelict and vacant buildings. I acknowledge that €2 million in funding was provided under the urban regeneration and development fund, but I would like the Minister to look...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The town centre first policy is a major cross-government policy that recognises vacancy and dereliction are still a challenge in many rural towns and villages. It seeks to breathe new life into our town centres, supporting the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland. Central to town centre first is the range of support funding, including my Department’s rural...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Carol Nolan: I acknowledge that these schemes are positive and bring about improvements if towns and villages are lucky to avail of the funding through the application which is made by the local authority. They are very positive and that is why I am asking for increased funding to be given to our local authority, Offaly County Council. I acknowledge the work of the council's regeneration team, including...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: We have appointed town regeneration officers in every county. They will engage with communities and with landowners who have derelict properties nothing is happening to. The Deputy and I know well that there is a myriad of reasons that properties are left derelict. I often go into a town and ask why on earth no one is living in those houses. However, there is probably a story behind it....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Carol Nolan: I thank the Minister for her reply. I reiterate that this could work better and be even more effective than it currently is if there was a co-ordinated approach, such as ensuring businesses stay in place and thrive and that they are supported to a greater extent. To that end, I hope the Government will take on board the need to cut the VAT rate to 9% to keep some of those businesses in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Telecommunications Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Denis Naughten: The difficulty is that the task force has now been usurped by the Department of communications in terms of its own digital strategy, which is based on EU targets. These EU targets are based on continental Europe, where population densities are very different from what they are here. As the Minister knows, the telecoms operators have proposed a unified mobile phone network in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Telecommunications Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Naughten. I am very happy to take on board his suggestions but, in fairness, much of the responsibility for this lies with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, sits on the task force. In fairness to Deputy Naughten, the then Minister, if I remember correctly, we set up the task force in 2016 and it was a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Telecommunications Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Denis Naughten: Things will get worse rather than better because we will see the 3G network being switched off. It is the one on which many people in rural Ireland rely. Our emergency services rely on an outdated Tetra system that must be mothballed anyway. The difficulty is that we cannot rely on the Department of communications. We must remember this is the Department with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Telecommunications Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Deputy Naughten will be glad to hear I agree with him. Rural Ireland deserves mobile phone coverage. We need it. I am happy to take on board what the Deputy has said and I will arrange for us to have a meeting directly with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to discuss this matter further. It is a serious issue in rural Ireland, so I am happy to do that.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Telecommunications Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Denis Naughten: I thank the Minister.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Control of Dogs

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 36. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if there will be a review of the Control of Dogs Act 1986; and the efforts her Department is making to ensure dog owners comply with the legislation. [26681/24]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: We had a discussion on this topic during the previous Question Time. Unfortunately, since then there have been two very serious incidents. There was a terrible incident with the death of Nicole Morey in Limerick, and I send my sympathies to her family, and there was also a very serious incident in my constituency where the armed response unit had to be called. There is now a discussion on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has policy and legislative responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act. In March 2024, I announced the establishment of a high-level stakeholder group to consider and make recommendations to strengthen policy in relation to these issues. The group is independently chaired by retired deputy Garda Commissioner Mr. John Twomey and is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the Minister. One of the issues being raised is what constitutes a restricted dog. At present, the list contains the American pit bull terrier, the bull terrier, the English bull terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier, the bullmastiff, the Doberman pinscher, the German shepherd, the Rhodesian ridgeback, the rottweiler, the Japanese akita, the Japanese tosa and what is called a...