Results 24,041-24,060 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: On amendments Nos. 4a and 4b, the decision will come before both Houses of the Oireachtas and a motion must be passed to extend the time limit. It will not be a case of being nodded through. A resolution has to be passed to say it can be extended for another period and if it is not approved it will revert to the old legislation and the pilot period ceases.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: On amendments Nos. 4c and 5, the provisions in section 8 of the Bill, and the regulations I will make, on the burning and hedge cutting issues will take account of our obligations under the EU birds and habitats directives. Under other international nature conservation conventions and the Aarhus convention on access to information on the environment it would not be normal practice, and I...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: That is fine.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Section 9 amends section 40(1) of the Wildlife Act 1976, lines 17 to 21, page 12. It is a simple tidying-up exercise which updates the collective citations for fisheries legislation and replaces the reference to the Central Fisheries Board, which is now Inland Fisheries Ireland. Following further consultation with the Attorney General's office however, I have been informed that the changes...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: We did not have an amendment tabled so we will do so on Report Stage if that is alright.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Okay. That is fine.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I do not intend to propose an amendment here, but I intend to table a small textual amendment on Report Stage to subsection 3(e)(ii), on page 15, lines 25 to 29, on occasions where authorised officers know or suspect that a vehicle in particular has been used in committing an offence.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I intend to table an amendment to section 11 on Report Stage to retain certain provisions in section 69(3)(c) of the Wildlife Act. The other repeals relate to provision penalties in both the 2000 and 2010 wildlife legislation, which are updated in this Bill, and consequently the repeal stands. I also wish to advise the House that I will bring forward an amendment on Report Stage to section...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I do not propose an amendment here at this time. However, I intend to move two further amendments on Report Stage to the effect that the upper, middle and lower lakes of Killarney would be considered part of the property comprising the part of the Muckross Estate that was conveyed to the State in 1932 under the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park Act 1932, and certain national parks will be formally...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Schemes (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Towns and villages are at the heart of our rural communities and the Programme for a Partnership Government recognises that the renewal of towns and villages can play an important role in revitalising rural Ireland. Last year, therefore, I launched a new Town and Village Renewal Scheme, with funding of €10 million, to start the process of rejuvenating Ireland’s rural towns and...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Development Plan (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The Action Plan for Rural Development, which was launched on 23 January last, contains a number of measures which have the objective of supporting the rejuvenation of rural Ireland, including the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Rural Recreation Infrastructure scheme, and the CLÁR programme. The aim of all of these measures is to make rural Ireland, including its towns, villages and...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Voluntary Sector Funding (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: My Department operates a wide range of funding schemes across all areas of its remit. Details of these schemes, and announcements in respect of funding allocations are made available on my Department's website. Details of annual expenditure are also published each year in the Department's Annual Appropriation Account. In view of the large number of schemes concerned it would not be...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Contracts Data (29 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: I am advised that no private investigation firms have been engaged by my department in the past five years or to date in 2017 .

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Action Plan for Rural Development Implementation (28 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The Monitoring Committee for the Action Plan for Rural Development has been established and held its first meeting on 23 March 2017. The membership of the Monitoring Committee, which I myself chair, includes senior representatives from key Government Departments and agencies, other public bodies and rural stakeholders, as well as representatives from the business community. The role of the...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: National Monuments (28 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Archaeological investigations have been in progress on Montpelier Hill since 2015 as part of the ‘Hellfire Club Archaeological Project’. The investigations have been licensed by my Department under the National Monuments Acts and funded by the local authority under the South Dublin County Heritage Plan. The archeological investigations have examined the remains of a...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Protected Disclosures Data (28 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Details of my Department's policy in relation to Protected Disclosures together with the Annual Reports published in accordance with Section 22 of the Act are available on my Department's website at The Policy provides that concerns will be treated seriously and investigated where that is considered appropriate. The Policy provides that if a discloser has a reasonable belief that a serious...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Wildlife Regulations (28 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts 1976, as amended, prohibits the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction of vegetation, with certain strict exemptions, from 1 March to 31 August. Following a review of Section 40, which involved, inter alia, consideration of submissions from interested parties, I announced proposals in December 2015 to introduce legislation to allow for managed hedge...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Waterways Ireland Remit (28 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: The Heritage Bill 2016 includes provisions to amend the Canals Act 1986. The amendments to the Canals Act 1986 are primarily enabling provisions to allow for the making of bye-laws to regulate boating on the canals and to manage the use of the canals. The 1988 Canal Bye-Laws have been in force for almost 30 years and need to be revised to reflect changes in the use of the canals over the...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Insurance Costs (28 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: My Department and a number of the bodies under its aegis operate under State Indemnity, a self-insurance model whereby the State bears the financial risk associated with the cost of claims. This approach is set out in the Public Financial Procedures at C8 Section 11 whereby the general rule is that no insurance should be effected against the risk of any loss which, if it arose would fall...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Leader Programmes Administration (28 Mar 2017)

Heather Humphreys: Expenditure of approximately €1.35 million has been incurred to date in 2017 under the LEADER 2014-2020 programme. This represents expenditure incurred on administration and animation costs by the Local Action Groups (LAGs) who deliver the programme. While no project expenditure has yet been incurred under the LEADER 2014-2020 programme, the LAGs are currently concluding calls for...