Results 5,001-5,020 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Offshore Islands (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Tá mé finished.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Just to clarify for the Deputy, altogether we announced €50 million in funding. We said that €30 million had to be spent this year and €20 million next year. All the projects have been announced, but some projects are bigger and it is going to take them a bit longer. That is why we have allowed them a bit more time to spend. There is €50 million in funding....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 77 together. The CLÁR programme provides funding for small-scale projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported over 2,100 projects with funding of over €59 million. This funding is making a real difference in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is dead right. The CLÁR programme does not have a huge fund, but it is a very impactful and important fund. I always make a point of trying to visit the communities that have put a lot of effort and work into fundraising themselves. I have seen the improvement in school carparks, playgrounds and indeed many other worthwhile projects, and I can say that CLÁR is small...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: We recently funded town centre first officers in all local authorities. That is an extra resource. We have the rural recreation officers as well, whom we fund. To return to the LIS, Kerry indicated it could deliver €3.6 million worth of works in 2024, while Cork indicated it could deliver €5.4 million of works in the same year. Kerry County Council had a small underspend...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Earlier this year, together with Government colleagues, I announced details of €50 million in funding for more than 880 projects under the community recognition fund. At its core, this fund recognises the huge efforts of communities that have gone above and beyond to welcome and support people coming to Ireland. It is supporting towns and villages nationwide that have shown such...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: A total of €50 million has been allocated. It has gone to every county. Some counties put in few big projects, while other counties put in a large number of smaller projects. This year, €30 million is allocated to be spent, while €20 million is allocated to be spent next year. That is because some of the projects, particularly the larger ones, may take longer than...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 83 together. I thank both Deputies for raising this matter. The local improvement scheme, LIS, supports the continued improvement of non-public roads and lanes that are not normally maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded into the future. I am very aware of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Transport has a large capital budget, which is far more than what I have in my Department. I have raised this matter with the Minister for Transport on a number of occasions and will continue to do so. The Department of Transport has a role in this area. I funded the additional money through savings in other areas in my Department. I have managed to do that over the past...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Our Rural Future commits to developing an effective rural proofing model to ensure that the needs of rural communities are fully considered in the development of Government policies. To advance this measure, my officials commissioned research in this area. The resulting report, entitled “Proposals for a Rural Proofing model for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Rural proofing is a tool to support the policymaking process. There are more examples of rural proofing models failing than of being successful. We want to use the test cases to develop an approach that suits the national conditions. When every Department makes decisions, I want it to think rural. It is as simple as that. It is a question of how to ensure that happens each time. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: We are developing the social enterprise strategy. It is important that this be done as quickly as possible. I will be working on it. I want to ensure that all of these strategies are right. We found it took a long time to develop the island strategy, but we got there in the end and it was welcomed as a good strategy. Our Rural Future is a good policy document and has been recognised...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Recreation Policy (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: It has been my pleasure to travel to Waterford a few times and I will be delighted to get back down again to see more of the projects. The good news is that I will be announcing more projects early next year. The applications have not closed for measures two and three. They will be closing on 27 October. They will be coming in at the end of October and then they will be assessed. We will...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 53 together. The local improvement scheme, LIS, supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, the Government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded into the future. The scheme makes an important contribution to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I agree with the Deputy; when they are allocated the money, they would want to spend it. I like to keep the pressure on to spend it, because if they do not spend the money, I have to give back. It is not that easy to get in the first place. As the Deputy knows, €114 million has been spent in the past five to six years. I would love to put more money into funding the LIS. I did...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. We fund the roads through the LIS scheme. They are private lanes. I do not know about the process of taking in charge, but after time has passed and after roads have fallen into disrepair, one can reapply. I have seen instances of people who have reapplied to have them resurfaced. It is not at the same expense that they were originally, but it is up to the landowners...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Recreation Policy (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As part of the Our Rural Future policy and the new national outdoor recreation strategy, Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, I am committed to building on the wonderful opportunities provided by Ireland’s outdoor recreation sector. Indeed, Waterford is a great example of what is possible in this sector. The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, provides funding for the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Recreation Policy (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is very fortunate to come from Waterford because it is a beautiful county. The Deputy was there when I visited St. Declan's Way and I was also at the fabulous Mount Congreve Gardens, which is such a wonderful amenity. There are 115 km of beautiful walks and scenery and I am delighted my Department has been able to support the projects. Of course, there is also the Waterford...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I am delighted the Deputy was on Árainn Mhór because I was there earlier in the year when we launched the islands policy. That lovely plaza on the beach was funded through my Department. It is a wonderful asset to the community. There is also a fantastic remote working hub on the island as well. I was delighted, when I was watching culture night, that one of the shows came live...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: There is a wonderful road out to the lighthouse. It was in a bit of a mess, to say the least. That has all been funded. That is a good news story. We need to build on that. The town and village renewal scheme was set up way back in 2016 when I was in the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. I introduced the scheme. It is a bottom-up approach. That means...