Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I wish to look at two issues. The Leader programme is a very efficient source of funding but there have been serious problems. I accept the Minister's point that 31 changes will be made to the programme but there are 18 bureaucratic steps to be taken by local community groups in order to access funding. That is proving to be a nightmare. It is my understanding that only 335 projects have been approved to date compared to more than 2,800 during the first two years of the previous programme. Would it not make more sense to bring back the old programme? I do not understand why it changed. It does not make sense to try to fix something if it is not broken. It would make more sense to bring back the old Leader model as it proved more efficient in terms of communities being able to drawn down funding. I am aware from representations in my constituency office that communities are experiencing serious difficulty and I want to bring that message to the Minister and call on him to examine the possibility of bringing back the old model.

I welcome the reinstatement of the local improvement scheme but should there not be a separate allocation for the scheme rather than taking it from the Leader budget, which I understand has been the case. Such a scheme should have a standalone allocation.