Results 26,441-26,460 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Inland Waterways Development (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: Waterways Ireland is responsible for the management, maintenance, development and restoration of the inland navigable waterway system throughout the island, principally for recreational purposes. As a north south implementation body, Waterways Ireland is under the joint remit of my Department and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland. The Royal Canal is one of the...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Commemorative Events (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that the 2015 Famine Commemoration will be held in the province of Ulster and that the format for the event will have a clear cross-community aspect. My Department is liaising closely with the key stakeholders regarding the logistics and other arrangements. My core focus, and that of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, which I chair, is to ensure that the 2015...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme Relocation Options (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: 3,064 applications have been received under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme for raised bog special areas of conservation. Of these, 781 applicants have expressed an interest in relocation to non-designated bogs. Notwithstanding the complexity involved, progress in relocating turf cutters to non-designated bogs is being achieved in a number of cases and arrangements have...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Easter Rising Commemorations (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: Plans to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising are well underway and I expect to be in a position to publish a detailed programme of commemorative events within the coming weeks. The aim of the commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising is to have a rich diversity of programmes and events, complementary and additional to formal State occasions, which will run throughout 2016. In...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Staff (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: Last year, I established a dedicated 2016 Project Office in my Department, which has responsibility for co-ordinating and leading on all activities relating to the development and implementation of the Ireland 2016initiative, focused on the commemoration of the centenary of the events of the 1916 Easter Rising. To date, four officials from my Department have been assigned full-time to the...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: National Parks and Wildlife Service Staff (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: My Department directly employs some 565 staff, who operate across a broad range of functions within my Department’s programme areas-Arts, Culture and Film; Heritage; Irish Language, Gaeltacht and Islands; and North/South Co-operation. As the Deputy will appreciate, the staff of my Department are allocated to these functional areas on the basis of need, having regard to a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Wildlife Protection (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: Protection of wildlife species is provided under the Wildlife Acts and I have no plans at present for any further protective measures for species through legislation. My Department has published species action plans for species which require strict protection under the EU Habitats Directive. These include cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), otters and bats. These are available in the...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: National Library (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: As Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, I am responsible for ensuring that appropriate arrangements are in place to commemorate the Great Irish Famine. My Department is currently in discussions with the key stakeholders, North and South, to ensure that the 2015 ceremony will be a fitting tribute to those who perished in Ulster during that tragic time in our history. The...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Easter Rising Commemorations (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: Plans to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising are well underway and I expect that a detailed programme of commemorative events will be published in the coming weeks. The aim of the commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising is to have a rich diversity of programmes and events, complementary and additional to formal State occasions, which will run throughout 2016. In this regard,...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Commemorative Events (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: As Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, I am responsible for ensuring that appropriate arrangements are in place to commemorate the Great Irish Famine. My Department is currently in discussions with the key stakeholders, North and South, to ensure that the 2015 ceremony will be a fitting tribute to those who perished in Ulster during that tragic time in our history. The...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Heritage Projects (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: My role, as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, with regard to the protection and management of our built and natural heritage, is set out in the provisions of relevant legislation. Statutory protection of the architectural heritage is primarily a matter for the planning authorities under Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Under the provisions of the...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: National Library (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: While my Department provides funding to the national cultural institutions, the management and board of each institution is responsible for all operational matters, including storage and conservation, and I do not have a statutory function in respect of such day-to-day matters. It is the responsibility of the management and the boards of the individual institutions to determine the spending...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme Relocation Options (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: 3,064 applications have been received under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme for raised bog special areas of conservation. Of these, 781 applicants have expressed an interest in relocation to non-designated bogs. Relocation is a complex process in terms of: - investigating suitable sites for turf quality and quantity; - the infrastructure/drainage works required; -...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Strategies (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: I am committed to the delivery of the country's first ever national cultural policy - Culture 2025- and will be initiating a wide-scale consultation process to ensure that all stakeholders and members of the public can make their views know. With this in mind, a draft discussion paper is currently being finalised, which I hope to publish shortly. As the purpose is to set out the high-level...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Turbary Rights (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: It is important to point out that there is no blanket ban on cutting turf in Ireland. The need to curtail turf cutting has arisen in the context of the requirement to conserve legally protected sites. As set out in the draft National Peatlands Strategy, the Government has no intention of ending the traditional practice of cutting turf for a person’s own domestic use but is committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Arts Promotion (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: The Government appreciates the importance of the cultural and creative industries to Ireland, including the music industry. My Department provides significant support to the industry through its funding of the Arts Council; through capital supports for the development of arts and cultural infrastructure; and through other financial and policy supports. I was particularly pleased that the...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: City of Culture Initiative (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: The criteria for the selection of the European Capital of Culture is available on my Department's website at the following link:

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Legislative Programme (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: My Department does not collate information in relation to the number of legislative amendments tabled to Bills which are before the Oireachtas. The Legislative Observatory section of the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas at and the Irish Statute Book website at detail all legislation enacted by the Oireachtas, including the particular enactments introduced by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Staff Recruitment (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: Staffing requirements for Killarney House remain the subject of consideration in light of my Department’s overall business needs and the approved pay framework for 2015. The final phase of restoration, refurbishment and new works at Killarney House is currently ongoing and, accordingly, the nature and extent of posts required, including their budgetary implications, have yet to be...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Easter Rising Commemorations (11 Mar 2015)

Heather Humphreys: One of the core objectives of the Ireland 2016initiative is to encourage and facilitate participation by, and the inclusion of, the citizens of Ireland to the greatest extent possible in the programme of events to commemorate this significant centenary. In order to facilitate engagement with local communities and people of all ages nationwide, I have met with the County and Cities Management...