Results 3,061-3,080 of 15,805 for speaker:Michael Ring

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: The original RAPID programme ran from 2001 and closed to new applications in 2011. In 2017, a nationwide recast RAPID programme was launched and, in 2018, my Department completed a review of that new programme. Following the review, which included consultation with the 33 local community development committees, LCDCs, throughout the country, I launched the new community enhancement...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I do not agree. I did not close down the RAPID programme.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I did not close it down; I opened it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: Let us have the facts.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I amalgamated the RAPID programme-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: Deputy Curran's party closed it down in 2011. I opened it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: No, it was 2011.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I will explain it again. I hope the Deputy is not giving out about his councillors and representatives on the LCDCs.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: And my own. There was a fund of approximately €3 million and we amalgamated the community enhancement programme and RAPID programmes. Last year, although the Deputies did not give me credit for this, while there was €4.5 million in the budget, I finished up putting €12 million into it because we had savings in the Department which I put into the community enhancement...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I will say it again: I did not close them down. I amalgamated it with another programme and I put more funding into it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: €2 million was all that was in it and I put €4.5 million into it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I put €12.5 million into the combined schemes last year.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I will say it to the Deputy again: I amalgamated both schemes and I put more money into it than any other Minister. If the Deputy cannot see that, there is something wrong.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: RAPID Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: It is €12.5 million, €4.5 million of which was in the budget line and €2 million of which was in RAPID. I am doing this from the bottom up. I know Fianna Fáil always like to do it from the top down but I always like to go from the bottom up.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Rural Development Implementation (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I have to disagree with the Deputy. One complaint from the local authorities was that they could not progress schemes because they were unsure whether they had funding. I brought in the local authorities three years ago and gave them a list of what was coming down the line. They know now from year to year what schemes are actually coming. Deputy Calleary knows it and I know it. He is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Rural Development Implementation (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: They will not like that. Deputy Calleary will be complaining during Question Time to me about it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: CEDRA Remit (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: I thank the Deputy for the question. The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas was established in November 2012 as an independent expert group to examine and report on the medium-term economic development of rural Ireland to 2025. The CEDRA report was published in April 2014. The priority recommendation made by CEDRA was the need for a joined-up approach to rural...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: CEDRA Remit (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: What Deputy Kenny says is correct. Yet, the Central Statistics Office figures show that employment is growing throughout the country, including outside of Dublin. I gave the figures on the increase in the previous reply. Other initiatives we have looked at include the town and village scheme, the outdoor recreation scheme, the CLÁR programme and the rural regeneration scheme. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: CEDRA Remit (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: Deputy Kenny has raised this question on several occasions and he is right. He commented on dereliction in towns and villages. I will talk about this to the local authorities and state agencies. Every time they come seeking a new development or building, the first place they look at is a greenfield site. It is time for the councils and State agencies to start looking at towns and villages...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Action Plan for Rural Development Implementation (11 Jul 2019)

Michael Ring: The Action Plan for Rural Development was published in January 2017 as a whole-of-Government initiative to support the economic and social progress of rural Ireland. Progress reports on the implementation of the action plan are published twice yearly on the gov.ie website. The most recent, Fourth Progress Report, was published at the start of July. It shows that 268 of the 277 actions...