Results 4,141-4,160 of 15,805 for speaker:Michael Ring

Other Questions: Town and Village Renewal Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 16 together. I thank the Deputy for her question. The town and village renewal scheme is a key component in revitalising towns and villages and sustaining our rural communities. It was introduced in 2016 and allocated €10 million to 170 projects in its first year of operation. In 2017, as part of the Action Plan for Rural Development, I...

Other Questions: Town and Village Renewal Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I thank the Deputies for their questions. I will not be political, but there have been many closures of small shops in recent years. They are finding it difficult thanks to the Internet and so on. People sometimes forget that many small shops are closing because multinationals have entered their areas. I have seen this happen in my own area. It is not always a good thing. I would prefer...

Other Questions: Town and Village Renewal Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: In 2016, I approved an allocation of €9.8 million. Of that, €9.7 million was spent. That is 92%. The point that Deputy Deering raised was one of the complaints that I received from local authorities. I met the CCMA, which complained that many schemes had landed on authorities quickly and they did not have the necessary resources. 12 o’clock They know now. I...

Other Questions: Town and Village Renewal Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I thank the Deputy for his comments. He was correct that this has been a positive scheme with tremendous work being done. In his county, €796,403 has been allocated to a number of projects, for some which he lobbied hard. They are making an impact and the town and village renewal scheme is working well. I want the scheme to continue. I hope we will see some good projects on foot of it.

Other Questions: Offshore Islands (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I thank the Deputy for his question. Statutory responsibility for the development and improvement of roads, including those on offshore islands, lies with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. However, since 2017, my Department has funded a local improvement scheme, which is a scheme for carrying out improvement works on private-non-public roads. Often these roads...

Other Questions: Offshore Islands (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. There are three islands in my constituency, although I acknowledge there are not many in the midlands.

Other Questions: Offshore Islands (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I compliment my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Kyne who opened up a scheme for the islands. Deputy Penrose was correct in pointing out that the islands incur extra costs to transport materials in and out of them. I would like co-operation between the local authorities, the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and my...

Other Questions: Offshore Islands (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: Yes.

Other Questions: Rural Development Policy (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I agree with Deputy Durkan that we should not demoralise community groups and, instead, we should support and help them. If we did not have these community groups to help provide certain social services, we would have a serious problem where Government or State agencies are not providing those services. That is why, earlier this year, I looked at the situation of some of these community...

Other Questions: Rural Development Policy (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I compliment the Deputy because, while he may not believe this, I asked departmental officials this week to look at organising a community weekend. We have a problem in this country in that people living in local areas do not know one another. My neighbour came in to me on Monday just when I was leaving for Dublin, and handed me a leaflet explaining there was a get-together on Friday night...

Other Questions: Town and Village Renewal Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I launched the 2018 town and village renewal scheme on 27 April this year with an allocation of €15 million for projects which will run over a 12 to 18-month period. Local authorities are required to seek expressions of interest from communities for proposals under the scheme, and each county has been invited to submit up to 12 proposals to my Department for consideration. The...

Other Questions: Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure and for the maintenance, enhancement or promotion of existing outdoor recreational infrastructure. The scheme facilitates the development of numerous greenways, blueways, walks and other trails across the country. In 2016, 117 projects throughout Ireland were...

Other Questions: Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme is the name of the scheme. It is an all-Ireland scheme. It is for everybody - town, village, rural area or city. On this occasion I am looking at allowing Leader companies come in with regard to the smaller schemes. I will leave the two bigger schemes to the local authorities. The Deputy is quite correct. These have been a tremendous success....

Other Questions: Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: When I was in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, there were some schemes there, particularly for cities and bigger towns. I want to make it clear to the Deputy that the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme opened on 1 June, the closing date is 27 July and it is open to everybody. Every application will be considered on its merits. I will set out the guidelines. It is a...

Other Questions: Rural Development Policy (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 224 together. I am leading a Department whose mission is to help build vibrant and sustainable communities across the country in both rural and urban areas. To do this requires a mix of policy initiatives and actions to improve economic development and to address gaps in meeting the social needs in these areas. Many of these initiatives form part of the...

Other Questions: Community Development Initiatives (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I would be supportive of anything that is good for community. It does not matter what religion, colour or creed - I want to support communities like that. There is a scheme I urge the Deputy to investigate himself and to talk to Dublin City Council about. It is a new €2 billion urban regeneration fund that will be opening some time in June. The Deputy might look at making an...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Improvement Scheme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: To be fair to Deputy Michael Collins, he did acknowledge that there was no scheme for many years and that it is up and running now. A total of €17.5 million was spent on the scheme last year. There was no dedicated LIS scheme in recent years. Councils receive money from rates and other contributions. I agree with Deputy Michael Collins that there are many roads in rural areas that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Improvement Scheme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I am looking at my Department's finances at the moment. I like the scheme, I want to support it and there is a need for it. A very serious problem has arisen in recent years given that no scheme was in place. There is a big build-up of roads that need to be addressed. We will continue with the current funding allocation and if I can find further funding between now and the end of the year...

Other Questions: Community Development Initiatives (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 45 together. My Department supports the local community development committees which are responsible for overseeing local and community development funding and identifying local needs through the local economic and community plan, LECP, process. Dublin City Council's LECP includes as a strategic goal the provision of a range of public, safe and...

Other Questions: Community Development Initiatives (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I agree with Deputy Broughan's sentiments. I have visited some of the communities in Limerick and Dublin and in some rural areas. We have the community enhancement programme, the RAPID programme and the community facility programme. I joined two of the schemes together because the grant aid provided was small. Local community development committees, LCDs, community groups, elected...