Results 1,621-1,640 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the RRDF is a strategic capital investment fund that is key to the delivery of Ireland's rural development policy, Our Rural Future. The Youghal public library project was awarded funding of just over €4 million under the third call for category 1 proposals to the fund in 2021. The project will renovate and extend derelict buildings and a site on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: When I allocate money to projects, the one thing I want to see is that it is spent. We engage regularly with the local authorities. I have to be honest here; some local authorities are excellent at getting funding, drawing it down and delivering projects and some are not quite as efficient with that process. We speak to local authorities regularly. I will tell any Deputies here who know...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: People get caught up on certain schemes. Substantial funding is also being provided to County Cork under a range of other schemes operated by my Department. Since 2020, €5.7 million has gone to Cork under the town and village scheme, and €32.3 million has been allocated to Cork under the rural regeneration scheme in the same period. Cork was allocated €3.4 million in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Harbours and Piers (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter again. As the Deputy is aware, Galway County Council is the responsible authority for the maintenance and development of pier infrastructure on the Aran Islands, including on Inis Oírr and Inis Meáin. There are regular meetings between officials from my Department and Galway County Council to discuss and monitor the pier development on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Harbours and Piers (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I visited the pier at Caladh Mór and saw the issues there. People tried to fix it years ago but trying to find the right solution has been difficult. We have gone through a long process. I am happy to try to do what I can on my side but Galway County Council also has a responsibility. My officials and Galway County Council officials continue to liaise and meet regularly on this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Harbours and Piers (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Regarding Inis Oírr, in July I gave approval to issue a request for tender. The first stage has been completed. Stage 2 of the tender process was posted on 8 April. The closing date for receipt of all documentation is set for 12 July. However, Galway County Council has advised my Department that a four-week extension has been given, meaning the new date is 9 August. The assessment...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 , 41 and 46 together. My Department's CLÁR scheme is a targeted investment programme that provides funding for small-scale infrastructural projects in rural areas that experience disadvantage and significant levels of depopulation. This scheme has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Under the 2023 scheme, I approved over €13...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The CLÁR scheme works extremely well. It depends on how much of one's country is allocated in CLÁR as well. We can compare one set of figures with different county sizes. I appreciate Cork is a big county. The number of projects approved in Cork since 2016 was 130 and they got funding of €4.184 million. I do not have the map of what areas in Cork are designated as...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. There is co-ordination and it is being done through the town regeneration officers. It is their job to work together through the local authority and to identify funding schemes. Offaly has not been doing too badly. I remember being up in the supermarket I visited in Edenderry and €12.25 million was provided for that. That is a wonderful project. I visited...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Connolly also for raising this issue. As the Deputy is aware, the land on which the Inishbofin airstrip is located is currently owned by Galway County Council. These lands were acquired by way of a compulsory purchase order, CPO, by Galway County Council on behalf of the Department. Part of the site is intended for use by the HSE for a primary care centre. The transfer of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I am glad that the Deputy put in the questions because I think if she or I were doing this, we would have it done more quickly, to be honest with the Deputy. When I started looking at this, it has been going on since 9 September 2003. That is when the Department requested Galway County Council to purchase the land. This went through a CPO process. I will not go into it but the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. There is no doubt about it but that we need the primary care centre on the island. My Department intends to transfer a section of the land to the HSE and we have given the Deputy a timeframe on that. I will ask my officials to respond to the Deputy with an answer on the design team as I do not have that to hand and I will not give the Deputy wrong information. I know...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Yes, it will look at that. As I live on the Border, I am aware that there will be a ban on these dogs in Northern Ireland. It has already kicked in in the UK. It will be in place from the first week of July. We do not want to be out of kilter with Northern Ireland. There is no point in them being banned there and having a different arrangement south of the Border. However, we have to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The town centre first policy is a major cross-government policy that recognises vacancy and dereliction are still a challenge in many rural towns and villages. It seeks to breathe new life into our town centres, supporting the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland. Central to town centre first is the range of support funding, including my Department’s rural...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: We have appointed town regeneration officers in every county. They will engage with communities and with landowners who have derelict properties nothing is happening to. The Deputy and I know well that there is a myriad of reasons that properties are left derelict. I often go into a town and ask why on earth no one is living in those houses. However, there is probably a story behind it....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Telecommunications Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Naughten. I am very happy to take on board his suggestions but, in fairness, much of the responsibility for this lies with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, sits on the task force. In fairness to Deputy Naughten, the then Minister, if I remember correctly, we set up the task force in 2016 and it was a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Telecommunications Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Deputy Naughten will be glad to hear I agree with him. Rural Ireland deserves mobile phone coverage. We need it. I am happy to take on board what the Deputy has said and I will arrange for us to have a meeting directly with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to discuss this matter further. It is a serious issue in rural Ireland, so I am happy to do that.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has policy and legislative responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act. In March 2024, I announced the establishment of a high-level stakeholder group to consider and make recommendations to strengthen policy in relation to these issues. The group is independently chaired by retired deputy Garda Commissioner Mr. John Twomey and is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The group will meet next week and I have asked it to prioritise the issue of the restricted breeds. I have asked it to look at this. The XL bully is a crossbreed of the American bully. It is already on the restricted breeds list. This means people have to control their dogs on a short leash and muzzle when out in public. People who own these dogs have levels of responsibilities. I...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Yes.