Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The other committees have to get the sanction of the full council. The only exception to this for reasons of funding is the local community development committee, LCDC. If we want to establish a local community development committee as a local action group to draw down European funds, we must have a bottom-up approach. This was the position agreed with the authorities in Brussels as the appropriate way in which it should be done in order that we constitute the LCDCs as local action groups. Under the rural development programme there are specific European regulations covering these funds. The LCDC is the only committee that requires to do the business in an independent way.