Results 18,201-18,220 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) was established in November 2012 as an independent expert group to examine and report on the medium-term economic development of rural Ireland. The CEDRA report was published in April 2014.  The Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development which was published in January 2017 built on, and went further than, the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Ministerial Priorities (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Mission Statement of my Department, as set out in its published Statement of Strategy is: “To promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland." Behind that mission lie a number of key objectives: - creating conditions to support increased economic opportunities and local employment in all areas of the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: LEADER Programmes (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The LEADER programme is delivered through 29 Local Action Groups (LAGs) across rural Ireland.  The programme includes a specific funding strand to support Rural Economic Development, Enterprise Development and Job Creation.  Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LAGs, in conjunction with Local Development Companies who act as Implementing Partners in most areas, have...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Tidy Towns (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The TidyTowns competition has a unique place in Ireland’s culture.  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, the 2020 SuperValu TidyTowns competition had to be cancelled this year on public health grounds, due to COVID-19. The work of the TidyTowns...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Telecommunications Infrastructure (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce was launched in July 2016 to be a driving force for improving access to telecommunications services throughout Ireland. Since its inception, the Taskforce has addressed more than 70 targeted actions to alleviate connectivity barriers and resolve issues that negatively impacted on the rollout of essential telecommunications infrastructure in rural...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Island Communities (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to develop a new Policy for Island Development which will identify and address the main challenges and opportunities for our island communities to support their social, economic and cultural development.  There has already been a large amount of consultation with island communities in relation to the development of this policy under...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Island Communities (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to develop a new Policy for Island Development which will identify and address the main challenges and opportunities for our island communities to support their social, economic and cultural development. There has already been a large amount of consultation with island communities in relation to the development of this policy under...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Improvement Scheme (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme, or LIS, is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in rural areas which are not under the normal maintenance of the Local Authorities. The scheme is funded by my Department and is administered through the Local Authorities.  As the Deputy will be aware, there was no dedicated funding available for this scheme for a number...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Voluntary Sector (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Support for the works outlined by the Deputy could potentially be considered for funding, subject to eligibility criteria being met, under the following schemes funded by my Department:   - Under the LEADER (2014-2020) Programme. All funding decisions regarding projects are entirely a matter for the Local Action Groups (LAGs), which administer the programme in each LEADER...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: National Broadband Plan (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital connectivity in supporting many aspects of our daily lives.  Throughout the crisis, digital connectivity has helped people to avoid becoming socially isolated; it has enabled students to continue their education through on-line learning; and it has demonstrated its potential to support economic activity, remote working and a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: CLÁR Programme (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The CLÁR programme provides funding for small scale projects in rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population.  As the Deputy is aware, no funding was available for new applications under the programme between 2010 and 2016 due to constraints on the public finances.  Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a range of different...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Island Communities (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Interdepartmental Committee which was established in 2019 to oversee the preparation of a new Policy for Island Development included senior officials from the following Departments:- Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Children and Youth Affairs Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 133 together. As the Deputy will be aware, Community Employment (CE) supervisors and assistant supervisors have been seeking for several years, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme. CE sponsoring authorities are the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: In order to qualify for Community Employment (CE), a number of conditions must be met, including being in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment for a specific period.  The focus of CE is on those who are long-term unemployed and the programme is monitored on an on-going basis to ensure that the CE schemes are meeting the needs of both the communities, including rural...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together. The main income supports for carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. The projected expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2020 is approximately €919 million. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Community Employment (CE) programme is a community centred labour market initiative established for the purposes of social inclusion and activation, to help long-term unemployed people and other vulnerable groups to enter the workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment. In early 2019, the Government agreed to establish an Interdepartmental Group (IDG) to explore how social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has already advised that, subject to satisfying the relevant eligibility criteria, employees may claim casual (i.e. part-time) jobseeker payments or Short-Time Work Support payments for days of unemployment, even where their employer is claiming the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme for days of employment.  The normal scheme rules and application processes apply, including...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department receives information from Revenue in relation to payments made under the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).  This includes a customer’s PPSN, customer’s wage payment frequency (monthly, fortnightly or weekly paid) and the date of the EWSS payment. A Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) will not pay if the date of a customer’s...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives and investment in programmes, in order to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock.  Firstly, under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Company Liquidations (17 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Duffy Cahill report, which was commissioned by the Government in the aftermath of the Clery's closure, highlighted how the issues raised by the event and the subsequent legal cases are highly complex. The Duffy-Cahill Report was sent to the Company Law Review Group (CLRG) in 2016 for its consideration as part of the work of that group in advising the Minister for Business Enterprise...