Results 4,341-4,360 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: It is Vote 37 and is a separate administration. It is only one €12 million.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: First, the Deputy asked me about the bigger schemes, which do present more challenges. Very ambitious applications come in and sometimes they just cannot deliver on them as quickly as they thought. Sometimes they would run into difficulties with the planning process, although they have to have planning permission now before they can get approved. We are trying to focus on projects that are...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Up in my country-----

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I have no 4 x 4, but what I did have when I was growing up was a bicycle. I lived on a lane that was one mile long and there were potholes left, right and centre, and if I missed one, I was sure to hit the next one. I know all about lanes and I know there are problems when the milk lorry cannot get in to get the milk out, for example. There is a long list of lanes in every county that...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I will answer the library one first. We have a library fund all right, and that is separate. However, a lot of funding for libraries is coming through the rural regeneration fund. That is to address dereliction and issues in towns where we can repurpose old buildings and put them into 21st century use. We find that where there is a need for a new library, a lot of funding applications are...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: If it is part of a whole plan for regeneration of an area, a library is a very obvious one to put in it. It would be up to the local authority to decide whether that would be part of their plan. I have lost my bit of paper with the Deputy's questions, sorry.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I will come back in there. There are town teams in every town as the Deputy knows. We have appointed town regeneration officers. They are meant to look at the towns and engage with communities and businesses and help them to develop their plans for their particular town. The officers are in place now. We are very much about a bottom-up approach. Sometimes I know local authorities employ...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: It was once-off funding of €50 million. Of that, €30 million was to be spent in 2023, and €20 million is to be spent next year because some of these were big enough projects. It requires a bit of a lead-in time. Expecting them all to be spent within a year was nigh impossible. We have the €50 million, and there will be €30 million this year and...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: It was €1 billion.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: It has.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I will get the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, to come in on the community services programme. While this is fresh in my mind, I will try to answer as many questions as I can. I will start with the last one. CLÁR money and money for the islands will be ring-fenced. It is a great idea. I was on Inishmaan and did not get back this summer, but I hope to make my way there again next...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In fairness, it is hard to beat seeing it in its worst state. We know there is a real problem. We can read all of the descriptions, but we need to see it. I will get to Inishmaan if I have a chance. I believe ring-fenced funding for LIS for the islands is a good thing. We will keep that in place in 2024. I take the Deputy's point on CLÁR. Of course it is limited. That is why I...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I take the Deputy's point. This has been raised with me, and both the Deputy and the Cathaoirleach have said to me, as have others, that we badly need wastewater treatment plants in the villages. I will take a look to see what we can do. The maximum grant under CLÁR is €50,000. We can look at it and see if there is any way we could use that money to leverage more money from...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. We have an evaluation unit in the Department. We are working with the ESRI and the CSO. We use evidence for policies and schemes. Pobal is updating its data. Perhaps it could play a role in this as well.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In fairness, we have looked at reducing the co-financing rate to 10% for the Border and western regional area. We have reduced that for local authorities to try to encourage and help in an area that, to be fair, is not doing as well as some of the other areas across the country. I think I have covered all of the questions that I was asked. I take the point made about water. I wanted it...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: On the issue of dogs, a couple of weeks ago I outlined that fines under the Control of Dogs Act will increase from 1 December. Previously, all fines were €100, regardless of how serious the offence was. We now have a fine of €300, and multiple fines can be issued at the same time. The Cathaoirleach is dead right. If we are not out there and we do not have dog wardens making...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Service 2023
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I appreciate the opportunity to present this request for a substantive and technical Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Rural and Community Development. There are quite a number of movements reflecting a number of schemes operated by my Department. The proposed Supplementary Estimate covers various areas which I will now set out. There is a substantive Supplementary Estimate for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (21 Nov 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on the 1...