Results 1,641-1,660 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The rural regeneration and development fund is a key measure to deliver on the objectives of the Government's rural development policy, Our Rural Future, by providing funding for the development and delivery of ambitious capital projects in rural Ireland. The projects funded under the rural regeneration and development fund are revitalising our...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: We continue to review all of our schemes to see how they can better fit what communities need. To be fair, of all counties, Donegal has received a lot from the rural regeneration development fund. I do not have the figure to hand, but areas right across the county have benefited significantly. The urban fund is specifically for large towns like Letterkenny. If I start distributing funding...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rural Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I am always happy to engage with community groups on trying to improve their communities. The group in question should speak to the local authority as well. The authority will have a great deal of information on particular funding. Sometimes, groups need to adjust what their projects are looking for slightly to match the schemes.

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

Heather Humphreys: That has always been a challenge in rural Ireland. The most recent meeting of the mobile phone and broadband task force took place on 16 May. It was the first meeting under a new structure, wherein both State and industry task force members attend a single session of the task force. The agenda for the meeting included the standard updates by task force members on the status of their...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Community centres are a vital resource for any community. They are at the heart of so many of our towns and villages. That is why I have placed a central focus on improving our existing community centres and also delivering new facilities where they are needed. Under the 2022 Community Centre Investment Fund, over €45.8 million was committed for improvement and refurbishment works on...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 47, 49 and 50 together. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the recent dog attacks and express my sincere sympathies to those families impacted by these attacks. I am very committed to improving outcomes in relation to Dog Control in Ireland and am working very hard to determine what can be done by Government to mitigate such attacks in the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Authorities (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme is funded by my Department, but administered by local authorities. This approach sees local authorities identifying priority roads for repair and procuring the works in accordance with public procurement guidelines. The Deputy has previously raised with me the differences between counties in terms of the number of roads various local authorities have repaired...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department operates a wide range of programmes and schemes to support rural and community development throughout the country, providing targeted supports for communities across Ireland. These supports promote social inclusion, rural development, town and village regeneration, outdoor recreation, facilitate new working opportunities, and foster enterprise growth. Capital schemes...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Policies (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Our Rural Future 2021 to 2025 is the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development in Ireland. The policy was published in March 2021 and, as a live document, now contains more than 170 commitments for delivery. These measures support the economic, environmental, cultural and social development and wellbeing of rural communities. The policy contains a range of commitments...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Policies (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: One of the key focuses of Our Rural Future, the Government's Rural Development Policy 2021 - 2025, is optimising digital connectivity to support vibrant, sustainable rural communities. I want to close the digital divide between rural and urban communities and ensure that those living in rural communities are provided with the same opportunities as those in larger urban areas. Throughout my...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Broadband Infrastructure (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Our Rural Future recognises the opportunity that remote working presents for rural rejuvenation and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated national network of 400 remote working hubs by 2025. Substantial funding has been invested by my Department in the development of remote working facilities through a variety of programmes. Successful projects have been developed in...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: National Broadband Plan (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: One of the key focuses of Our Rural Future, the Government's Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, is optimising digital connectivity to support vibrant, sustainable rural communities. I want to close the digital divide between rural and urban communities and ensure that those living in rural communities are provided with the same opportunities as those in larger urban areas. I am working to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme supports improving rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. I am acutely aware of the scheme's importance to rural landowners and residents. As part of Our Rural Future, the government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded in the future. My Department reintroduced the scheme in 2017 after several years without...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways, water-based recreation sites and mountain trails. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of over €129 million has been awarded to 1,775 projects across the country. I was delighted to announce...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Control of Dogs (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department of Rural and Community Development has overall policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014. Local Authorities have responsibility for all operational matters under the Control of Dogs Acts including licensing and enforcement. My Department publishes annual statistics in respect of a range of the dog control responsibilities of local authorities. My...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways, water-based recreation sites and mountain trails. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of over €129 million has supported 1,775 projects across the country. I was delighted to announce total...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: 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...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Island Communities (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, I launched Our Living Islands - the National Island Policy 2023-2033 in June of last year. Our Living Islands is a substantial document – a ten-year policy backed up by rolling three year action plans. It has time-bound commitments so that Departments and agencies across Government can be held to account for its implementation. Following the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: 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 de-population. This scheme has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Under the 2023 scheme I approved over €13 million for 303 projects. This is the largest allocation under the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Policies (20 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland. Amongst the initiatives supported by my Department under TCF is the development of TCF Plans that are helping rural communities develop a...