Results 4,161-4,180 of 15,805 for speaker:Michael Ring

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The community services programme, CSP, supports 400 community organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model. Funding is provided as a contribution to the cost of a manager and an agreed number of full-time equivalent positions. More than €46 million is available to support community organisations under the programme for 2018. The CSP contribution is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: This is an important programme. I like this programme and it is working well. Deputy Ó Cuív knows that what we give is a grant. We are not the employers. For me or the Department to commit to what Deputy Ó Cuív is asking for would cost €3 million. We are supporting 1,670 full-time jobs and we have 300 managers. That amounts to almost 2,000 people. A sum of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: Yes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: Deputy Ó Cuív knows that I inherited this scheme on 1 January. A total of €46.2 million came with the scheme. I increased the allocation by €850,000 to bring in 12 new organisations. It was the first call since 2008. There had been no call for new schemes since 2008. Deputy Ó Cuív knows that the period between 2013 and 2015 was difficult for both the...

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

Michael Ring: I understand the Deputy is referring to plans to allocate extra funding to the local improvement scheme, LIS, in 2018. The LIS is a scheme for carrying out improvement works on private and non-public roads. The type of roads covered under the scheme are not under the normal maintenance of the county councils. However, they provide vital links for people living in rural areas and need to be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Leader Programmes Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The Deputy is correct in that we want Leader funding and I want to see it maintained. He knows, however, having been around a long time himself, that if one goes to a fair, one does not put one's best bid forward first. The Government, in particular the Taoiseach, will negotiate on CAP. They will be long negotiations and we cannot show our hand until we see what the proposals are. There...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Banking (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I thank the Deputy for the question. Officials from my Department and the Department of Finance have been working closely together since last year to investigate the feasibility of a new model of community banking for Ireland, including through the German Sparkasse model for the development of local public banks. The project team carried out detailed research into the concept with a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Banking (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The Minister for Finance and I have agreed the report and we want to get it published as quickly as possible. The Deputy is correct about the financial sector. I am not afraid to say it and have done so on many occasions in the House. We do not have functioning banks for small businesses. We have banks but they are not functioning. As a sitting Deputy, my constituents are coming to me...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Banking (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The report will be published and Members can discuss it when that happens. People in this country have suffered because of the behaviour of the banks and we must be careful about what banking institutions we put in now. People talk about the banks every day here. I read only last week in the newspapers about difficulties in some of the financial institutions. The taxpayers of this country...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Leader Programmes Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The European Commission has proposed, as part of the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, for 2021 to 2027, that approximately €78.8 billion would be allocated for rural development funding over the next seven-year period. I understand that this equates to approximately €1.85 billion for Ireland and represents a reduction in the region of 15% on the current funding period....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Leader Programmes Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: We have had negotiations at Cabinet about the CAP. The Deputy knows that is important, particularly for rural people, rural life, farmers and agriculture. On the Leader aspect, the negotiations are ongoing. We cannot show our hand yet. We have to wait and see what the negotiations will finalise. As the Deputy knows, Commissioner Hogan indicated that if the rest of the European Union...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: CLÁR Programme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The CLÁR programme is an important part of the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development and makes a huge contribution to supporting the most depopulated areas in rural Ireland.  The programme provides funding for small scale infrastructural projects in disadvantaged rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population.    CLÁR was...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Seniors Alert Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The allocation for the Seniors Alert Scheme in 2016 was €2.3m of which €1.8m was spent. Following a review, I launched a new scheme which took effect on 1 November 2017.  A media and information campaign was organised to support the launch.   The key features of the new scheme include: - free monitoring of the alarm service for the 1st year;   - a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Improvement Scheme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) is a programme for improvement works on small private/non-public roads. The scheme is currently funded by my Department and administered through the Local Authorities. In 2017, I allocated a total of €440,460 to Carlow County Council under LIS. An initial allocation  of €250,000 was made in September and a further allocation of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Improvement Scheme Funding (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I am very pleased to see the strong level of interest in the Local Improvement Scheme since I re-launched the scheme last September.  For many years, there was no dedicated funding for LIS, due to the constraints on the public finances.  However, the level of interest in this House, at County Council level, and from residents who live on LIS roads, shows the underlying need for...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Development Policy (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The rural development schemes currently operated by my Department are not confined to towns and villages. For example, the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Schemeprovidesfunding for the development and maintenance of walking trails, cycleways and blueways which bring visitors to rural areas and support local job creation through the provision of services and accommodation.  I recently...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Banking (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: The Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment to investigate the feasibility of a new model of community banking for Ireland, including an investigation of the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks that operate within well-defined regions. A project team comprising officials from my Department and the Department of Finance was established...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 40 and 44 together. The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund will make a significant and sustainable positive impact on rural communities in the years ahead. It can help strengthen rural Ireland through supporting job creation and addressing depopulation where this is an issue. Under Project Ireland 2040, the Government has committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I launched the 2018 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme on the 1st of June. The scheme provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure and for the maintenance and promotion of existing outdoor recreational infrastructure in rural Ireland. In the last two years, the scheme has funded trails, walkways, cycleways, blueways, and projects that improve...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Cross-Border Projects (14 Jun 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 27 together. Discussions between my Department and counterpart Departments in Northern Ireland take place primarily within the Steering Committee process for the PEACE IV programme, engaging directly on specific projects from time to time when necessary. PEACE IV supports peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the border...