Results 1-20 of 16,651 for are speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is absolutely right that there are many fantastic communities out there. I have been to Lisdoonvarna, which is a great example of where a community came together and assisted many Ukrainian refugees who came there. I was down there recently and it is a wonderful success story. They were able to tap into the community recognition fund, develop their pitches and sporting...

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

Heather Humphreys: I agree with the Deputy that sometimes when projects are delayed the cost increases. There is no doubt about that. We look at them and if there are genuine reasons and it can be shown the costs have increased, we help out because we want to see these projects delivered. They are very important. The Youghal project is a public library and we know how important public libraries are. I have...

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

Heather Humphreys: ..., the rural regeneration and development fund, the local improvement scheme, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, the community recognition fund and the community centre investment fund are delivering projects throughout the country. The emphasis of the 2023 to 2027 LEADER programme, which builds on the many successful previous programmes, will include the continued development...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...immigrants. They have facilitated them and worked well with them. I was delighted phase 2 of the Newbridge Family Resource Centre extension of the community building got €440,000 in 2023. Kildare has been allocated €830,000, which brings the total funding under the fund to more than €1.6 million. That is an important fund. It is a rolling fund, so it is important...

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: 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 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 matter. Both sets of officials are cognisant of the concerns of the residents of Inis Meáin. My Department has given the go-ahead to the county council to proceed to tender to develop the preliminary business case....

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: ...and €12.25 million was provided for that. That is a wonderful project. I visited it myself. It is an old supermarket and has been transformed. Indeed, other funding was provided there are for different initiatives. I have been to Offaly on a couple of occasions. On funding, good applications always get funding. There is a remote working hub in Killleigh which received...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...to purchase the land. This went through a CPO process. I will not go into it but the Deputy knows the story better than I do. My goodness me, it is taking a long time. As a Department, we are engaging regularly with Galway County Council. We have been in touch with the HSE and we are engaging with them to move this on because I know that the Chief State Solicitor's office has said...

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: ...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. It is quite complex and is often to do with...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...I remember correctly, we set up the task force in 2016 and it was a great success. It managed to deal with the issue of bridging the gap between the roll-out of the broadband plan and all of those areas that had very little coverage. It worked very well. The broadband officers that Deputy Naughten and I appointed jointly in every county council have been a great success. They have been...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...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 have increased the fines for dogs that are not kept under proper control. I have given €2 million to local authorities so that dog wardens have what they need in terms of vans and equipment. There has been a major publicity...

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

Heather Humphreys: ..., 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 rural towns and villages in line with the town centre first policy through planned and sustainable regeneration projects that will drive greater economic activity and footfall,...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...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 into larger towns, there will be less...