Results 17,361-17,380 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I appreciate the Deputy is being told that because I see the letters that have been sent out to everybody.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: That is why there are so many questions on the LEADER programme coming up today. I am very happy to answer them.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: There is no uncertainty. First, they do not stop announcing projects until the end of this year so they can continue to announce projects. As I said, there are approximately 3,000 projects and they have plenty of work to do for the next year and a half. Some 3,500 core projects are approved to the value of €139 million. A further 341 projects requesting €21 million in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Co-Working Facilities (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue which is something that I have a keen interest in. While many people are currently working from home to reduce the spread of Covid-19, recent research by the Western Development Commission, WDC, and the National University of Ireland Galway, NUIG, has highlighted a growing interest from people in continuing to work remotely in the longer term, at...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Co-Working Facilities (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The interdepartmental group has had its first meeting which I attended as I wanted to show the importance that I place in ensuring that we grasp this opportunity. As the Deputy and I am aware, remote working was a concept and aspiration this time last year. In fact there was a Cabinet meeting that was specifically looking at jobs and a big part of that was trying to get companies and people...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Co-Working Facilities (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. My Department estimates that there is likely to be in excess of 350 hubs in operation across the country. Validating the number of hubs is one of the first tasks of the interdepartmental group which, as I said, is being chaired by the Secretary General of my Department. A number of other Departments are involved in that group. This group will focus on collecting the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The current 2014- 2020 LEADER programme will come to an end this year. Under the seven-year programme, €168.7 million was allocated to the local action groups, LAGs, which deliver the programme at local level, for project approvals up to 31 December 2020. As of November, 3,530 projects with a value of over €139 million have been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Job Creation (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Action Plan for Rural Development 2017-2019 was a whole-of-government initiative to support the economic and social progress of rural Ireland. One of the objectives of the plan was to support enterprise growth and job creation in rural areas. A key target of the action plan was to increase the number of people in employment outside of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Job Creation (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The northern and western regions have been recognised as regions in transition and I was glad to receive conformation from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, that the Northern and Western Regional Assembly will be implementing the relevant funding on behalf of the Government. That is important because we want to see funding targeted at the area. It is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Job Creation (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: On a local level, I can tell the Deputy that in Galway alone, 1,182 jobs were supported by local enterprise offices in 2019. A total of 897 jobs were supported by local enterprise offices in Roscommon. I do not have the figures for Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. The regional enterprise development fund, which comes from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, is...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Housing Regeneration (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: An Inter-Departmental Group has been established which will consider the suggested actions in the report on the Town Centre Living initiative which was published in June. This work will be part of the wider remit of the Group which will also seek to progress the commitment in the Programme for Government to develop a Town Centre First approach to the regeneration of our towns and villages....

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Post Office Network (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My colleague, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, has policy responsibility for the postal sector, however, I am aware of the particular value placed by local communities, especially those in rural areas, on services such as those provided by the local post office. Rural and regional development is at the heart of the Programme for Government. My Department is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Flexible Work Practices (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working has proven its value in maintaining economic activity and in the provision of many public services. Building on the experience of the last few months, I believe that a structured approach to the provision of remote working facilities can be transformational for rural Ireland. Remote working can help to retain talented people in...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The EU-funded LEADER programme has been in operation since 1991 and, since then, it has supported thousands of community-led projects here in Ireland and throughout the EU. Under Ireland's current LEADER progamme, €168.7 million was allocated to Local Action Groups for project approvals over the lifetime of the programme. At the end of October, there were over 3,500 projects approved...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Rural and regional development is at the heart of the Programme for Government which includes a commitment to prioritise a State-led programme to bridge the gap between the current LEADER programme and the next EU programme. The objective of this commitment is to allow local-led rural development projects to be delivered under a Transitional Programme until the new EU programme commences. I...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, due to delays at EU level, the next EU LEADER programme will not commence until 2022 at the earliest. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to prioritise a State-led programme to bridge the gap between the current LEADER programme and the next EU programme. The objective of this Transitional Programme is to allow locally-led rural development...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Tidy Towns Committees (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I can assure the Deputy that it is my intention that the SuperValu TidyTowns Competition will take place in 2021. The competition has a unique place in Ireland’s culture and heritage. Since its inception in 1958 when it had 52 entrants, the competition has grown year-on-year to see a record number of 924 entrants in 2019. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the 2020 SuperValu...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Town and Village Renewal Scheme (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 48 together. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme has a budget of €25 million this year, following the allocation of an additional €10 million to the scheme as part of the Government’s July Stimulus Package. The scheme was adapted this year to assist towns and villages to respond to the impact of COVID-19. In addition to the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: LEADER Programmes (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 33 together. The current 2014-2020 LEADER programme will come to an end this year. Due to delays at EU level, the next EU LEADER programme will not commence until 2022 at the earliest. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to prioritise a State-led programme to bridge the gap between the current LEADER programme and the next EU...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Development Programme (5 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is currently finalising a new rural development policy for the next five years. The new policy will be forward-looking, ambitious, and will build on the progress achieved through the Action Plan for Rural Development, which concluded in 2019. It will seek to strengthen and build resilience in our rural economies and communities and will identify policy measures for delivery in...