Results 4,381-4,400 of 15,805 for speaker:Michael Ring

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Improvement Scheme Funding (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: I reintroduced dedicated funding for the Local Improvement Scheme in September 2017 after a gap of 8 years. This scheme is a lifeline for people living in rural areas because it directly improves their access to and from their homes and farms, and has made a huge difference for rural communities around the country. In September 2017, I approved €10 million in funding for the Local...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: CLÁR Programme (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: CLÁR is a targeted capital investment programme for rural areas which have experienced significant levels of depopulation. The programme was originally launched in October 2001 but was closed for applications in 2010. I re-opened the programme in 2016 and, since then, 900 projects have been approved for funding under CLÁR. I launched the 2018 CLÁR programme on 15th March,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: CLÁR Programme (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: The CLÁR (Ceantair Laga Árd-Riachtanais) programme is an important part of the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development and makes a huge contribution to supporting some of 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...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Agencies (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: Pobal was established by Government in 1992 as Area Development Management Ltd. (ADM).  The company has grown significantly and they now manage and administer programmes on behalf of a number of Government Departments.  In 2005, ADM was re-named Pobal. Pobal is a not for profit company limited by guarantee.  Charitable status was granted to the company by the Revenue...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Action Plan for Rural Development (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: The Action Plan for Rural Development was launched in January 2017. The Plan contains 277 actions aimed at supporting the economic and social progress of rural Ireland. These actions are for delivery across Government, State agencies and other bodies, over the period 2017-2019. One of the objectives of the Action Plan is to support enterprise growth and job creation in rural areas. The...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme Funding (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: The organisation referred to by the Deputy is a member-based network with associated member bodies throughout the country.  My Department provided funding to the central organisation and its individual member bodies under a number of different funding streams in 2017. I provided funding of €14,900 on a once off basis, to the central organisation to purchase IT equipment to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Banking (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: The Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment to investigate 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 last year to progress...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Recreation Scheme (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: My Department administers the Walks Scheme which facilitates the development and maintenance of many of Ireland’s walking trails. The scheme involves landholders as key participants in the provision of high quality walking trails, by contracting them to undertake maintenance work on sections of National Way Marked Ways and other priority walks that traverse their lands. Participating...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Telecommunications Services Provision (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: The Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce was established in July 2016 to identify solutions to broadband and mobile phone coverage deficits and to investigate how better services could be provided to consumers prior to full roll-out of National Broadband Plan. The Taskforce published its final report in December 2016, which set out 40 actions aimed at addressing the issues it identified. An...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Youth Employment Initiative (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: The Disadvantaged Youth Employment Initiative was included in the 2016 and 2017 Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plans.  Funding allocated in respect of the measure included in the 2016 Action Plan was €1.25m, however no expenditure was incurred.  No funding was allocated in respect of the measure included in the 2017 Action Plan.  These initiatives were not rolled out as...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Communities Facilities Scheme Applications (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: The Communities Facilities Scheme (CFS) was launched in 2017 with a budget for that year of €2 million. An allocation of €2 million has again been made available in 2018. The scheme supports community participation and involvement nationwide by helping grassroots community projects get underway or take the next step towards completion. Under the scheme, community and...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Recreation Scheme (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: My Department administers the Walks Scheme which facilitates the development and maintenance of many of Ireland’s walking trails. The scheme involves landholders as key participants in the provision of high quality walking trails, by contracting them to undertake maintenance work on sections of National Way Marked Ways and other priority walks that traverse their lands. Participating...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Improvement Scheme Funding (2 May 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 €17.4 million to County Councils around the country under the LIS scheme under two tranches. The table below sets out the funding provided to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Dog Breeding Industry (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 55 together. My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. Under the Act, Guidelines are in place for Dog Breeding Establishments and these are currently being revised by my Department. A draft was published as part of a public consultation process which ended in February 2017. The Department has...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: CLÁR Programme (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: CLÁR is a targeted capital investment programme for rural areas which have experienced significant levels of depopulation. The programme was originally launched in October 2001 but was closed for applications in 2010. I re-opened the scheme in 2016 to support the development of these, frequently remote and significantly depopulated, rural areas through small-scale capital projects...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme Funding (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: On 20 April I launched the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, or SICAP.  This is a five year programme covering 2018 to 2022, and is a major investment to support the most disadvantaged individuals and communities in our society. For 2018, the national allocation for the programme is €38 million.  I am confident that over the five year term of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Dormant Accounts Fund Administration (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 58 together. I refer to my reply of 27th March 2018 to previous questions on this matter, which set out the position with regard to the review of the Dormant Accounts Disbursement Scheme 2013-2016 and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the Dormant Accounts Fund. In summary, the Comptroller and Auditor...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Leader Programmes Funding (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: LEADER is a multi-annual EU co-funded programme to support rural development.  Ireland has an allocation of €250 million under the programme over the period 2014-2020, including both national and EU funding. The programme is administered by Local Action Groups (LAGs) who deliver funding in accordance with Local Development Strategies that have been produced for each LAG...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Voluntary Sector (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: My Department's community and voluntary supports and programmes provide a cohesive framework of support for the community and voluntary sector. €3.5m is being provided in 2018 under this programme to support 21 Volunteer Centres, 8 Volunteer Information Services and a number of volunteer-supporting organisations, such as Volunteer Ireland. Volunteer Information Services...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: RAPID Programme (2 May 2018)

Michael Ring: In 2017, with funding of €2 million, the RAPID programme supported almost 300 projects nationwide in amounts ranging from €300 to €64,500. For 2018, €2 million has again been allocated to the programme. An additional €4 million is also included under the RAPID subhead. This includes funding of €3.5 million which is specifically for...