Results 241-260 of 2,551 for speaker:Pat Carey

Irish Language Strategy (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: Tá dualgais agus cúraimí breise le bheith ag an údarás, tá sin sa straitéis agus mhol an coiste sin.

Irish Language Strategy (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: Beidh. Caithfimid an tAcht a leasú nó Acht nua a thabhairt isteach. Beidh sin dréachtaithe in am chun é a thabhairt isteach.

Irish Language (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 9 of 1 July in which I confirmed that my Department keeps the work of implementing the Official Languages Act 2003 under continuing review. Furthermore, there is an obligation on me, as Minister, to review the operation of the Act each year, as provided for in section 5 of the Act, and to report formally to the Houses of the Oireachtas in this...

Irish Language (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I request some latitude in trying to expand on this matter, which is by no means straightforward. The Official Languages Act requires local authority draft development plans to be produced simultaneously in Irish and English since they are key consultation documents. The requirement to publish official documents in Irish is strictly limited to very specific documents and does not encompass...

Irish Language (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: This Government is complying and I am sure future Governments will comply with the determination of the courts on the status of the Irish language. It is no more or less than that. In nearly all cases public bodies are not only being compliant with the wishes of the court and the obligations of the Official Languages Act, but also being sensible in how they spend the taxpayers' money. I...

Irish Language (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I believe I addressed the issue earlier but I reiterate the point. The numbers of hard copies of draft development plans in Irish sold to the public should not be seen as a measure of their usage since they can be downloaded free of charge from local authority websites. It is important that local authorities should encourage the public to engage with them and the planning process in Irish...

Designated Areas (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: Through its focus on deprivation and social exclusion, the RAPID programme is continuing to address the impact of the economic downturn on vulnerable communities and to provide opportunities for social and economic recovery. In order to ensure the programme's continued relevance, a review of RAPID area boundaries, including an analysis of data from the 2006 census across a range of...

Designated Areas (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I assume the Deputy is referring to the census data and the SAHRU-Haase indices which Pobal uses to analyse deprivation and other matters. It is not true to say it is under continual review because an extensive review of CLÁR and RAPID areas was conducted in light of the 2006 census over the past number of years and before I took up office, a number of decisions were taken to increase the...

Designated Areas (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I have to check that because I do not want to give an answer off the top of my head. I met the co-ordinating group for the RAPID programme a fortnight ago. Most of the programmes are small in scale because the same leveraging of funding is not available. I checked over the past week to ascertain what is outstanding and there is a reasonable amount. This year, €5 million was allocated for...

Designated Areas (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I know where the Deputy is coming from but the strength of the RAPID initiative is it applies to a limited number of areas, which are significantly economically and socially disadvantaged. If a programme such as this is spread around, its effectiveness is diluted. However, there is merit in using, for example, the quarterly national household survey conducted by the CSO to get a clearer...

Community Development (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 52 together. The primary role of my Department in regard to the community and voluntary sector is to encourage and facilitate communities, with a special focus on areas of disadvantage, to pursue social and economic progress. This policy is underpinned by the Towards 2016 partnership agreement, which recognises the valuable role of the sector. To this...

Community Development (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I have indirectly or directly met the vast majority of groups that had been funded under the previous three year envelope scheme. We have examined the three year programme and it was a good programme that achieved many of its objectives. Things have changed economically and I envisage a broadly similar approach being taken in the next round. Several organisations working in the same area...

Community Development (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: No decision has been made about future funding yet and no organisation has been told what will be available. There will be some reduction but at a time of scarce resources, I am determined the limited resources we have will be directed at those most disadvantaged and marginalised. I am anxious that front line services are protected to the greatest possible extent.

Community Development (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I hope to be able indicate the principles of the scheme to the sector in advance of the budget. We will have to advertise and it is possible the timeframe may be too short. Interim funding may be needed for a month or two in 2011 while the new scheme is being put together but I am minded at present to maintain the essentials of the scheme currently in place.

Community Development (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: The funding is extremely modest, in the order of €50,000. Discussions are ongoing among the voluntary groups coordinating the year of volunteering on behalf of the Government but this is more directed to raising awareness of the need for volunteering and the opportunities in the sector.

Community Development Projects (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I welcome the opportunity to brief the Deputy on developments affecting community development projects which have been under way for several months. At a strategic level, the local development social inclusion and the community development programmes have been superseded by the local and community development programme. A key difference between the new LCDP and its predecessor programmes is...

Community Development Projects (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: It is small number in single figures. I anticipate decisions will be made on these in the next three weeks.

Community Development Projects (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: I agree that the level of funding for community development projects has not been great. The average grant received is €103,000 with some at €145,000. It usually allows for the recruitment of a full-time co-ordinator and sometimes a part-time administrator. After this, other resources have to be leveraged. Those projects that are vibrant and can stand on their own are able to do this...

Community Development Projects (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: The last time I spoke about this subject was just before the summer recess when I referred to injury time.

Community Development Projects (3 Nov 2010)

Pat Carey: The sector blew the whistle on problems with this on 20 September. I met with a representative group which has worked well. I will not be recommending the extension of any timetable. It is necessary to bring closure to this problem that I inherited and that we can embark on the new scheme on 1 January 2011. It is the people on the ground who are recipients of the services who we must...