Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can say the same from my own Department. I have been critical of the local authorities and the way they have performed but to be fair to them I have to take their side in that they were not sure in the last number of years where there would be schemes the following year and at least now we have given them more clarity. We have written to them for this year's schemes, we have told them when the funding for them will be announced. They now know that they can set up the capacity now that they will have the capacity to deal with the schemes we have in place. At least they now know that this Department is in place and these schemes will be in place for the next few years. Deputy Ó Cuív is quite correct that the biggest part of the problem with the Leader programme is starting and stopping. What we have now is that the allocations are being made, we are waiting for the group to draw down the funding and by the time we come to the end of that programme there will be a new one. I agree with the Deputy.

I hope to be able to get an opportunity to travel to Brussels to meet Commissioner Hogan to have a discussion on the whole rural development issue. We should be getting more funding in our own Department of Rural and Community Development rather than the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine receiving all of the funding from that particular scheme. We should be independently looking for extra funding and for funding-----