Mr. Declan Rice:

I will take the easiest question first on why some communities are successful while others are not. I am being facetious, of course, because it is very complex. It comes down to empowerment, support with resources, and confidence. There is an induction loop into which all these things feed. Deputy Martin Kenny asked us for the three most important things. There could be 30 things but broadband would be at the top of the list. People compare it with the introduction of electricity but I think it is more serious even than that. It is like water, that is, running water and wastewater treatment. It is not just a question of what broadband to have and we know that all salespersons say theirs is the best system. We need future-proofed broadband in rural areas so that we can compete with urban areas at the right price. The LEADER programme has a role to play and the national broadband is in stream so we do not want to compromise that. We have a broadband team in our programme but we are constrained in what we can do. Very low amounts can be spent on capital, with a maximum of €20,000 on a single project. As members will imagine, that does not do an awful lot. We would welcome the opportunity to do something in the blue areas where State money is not going and we have made a proposal to the Department on that basis. We would like to lend a hand and we should be empowered to do so.

There needs to be some form of social framework to let social enterprises help themselves, be they community shops or enterprise centres. There are a number of streams of funding which are used by community enterprises in an ad hocway. As Dr. Cooke said, people will do whatever they can to get resources to make things happen. Often they are not helped and the rules do not help them in getting resources. If the commercial sector is pulling out of rural Ireland, as it increasingly is, the only way it will be addressed is by social enterprises and communities in rural Ireland stepping up to the mark. If people are pulling out commercially there is a reason for it and that is that they cannot make enough money. The only way we can do this is on the basis of supports. The community undertakes to take on some burden and the State also agrees to do it. That will mean an expansion of the current schemes and the dedication of long-term funding. There are real jobs in that and real opportunities to add value. We have been a bit mealy mouthed about this.

We are talking about community empowerment and Mr. O'Reilly mentioned a number of things which we have been supporting over the years. We have commissioned research on social enterprise and a conference is taking place today on social enterprise in local development companies. It is becoming a fashionable concept but it needs vigorous support at a tactical level and it needs people to ask what we need. We will work with the committee on that and we have a lot of ideas, though we are not looking for them to adopt them wholesale. We would like to set up a conversation with the committee on these issues. There is a lot of synergy.

We have been very constrained in the LEADER programme and broadband is an example of this. We understand that the broadband plan is technical but we feel we are not being given the chance to do all we can do. Some of us have 26 or 27 years experience in the rural and local development sector and we have internalised a lot of the knowledge that is out there. We see ourselves as facilitators of the community but not as having to do things for the community. We feel we are not, however, being allowed to spread our wings and do it.

I am lucky enough to work for a company which is one of only four independent local action groups, LAGs, in the country and I can feel the pain of my colleagues when we talk about projects. I had a meeting yesterday with three other companies on a simple project based on community shops, for which we were hoping to appoint somebody to do some work. I thought it would take a month but it took six months. That was because they had to go through the local community development committees, LCDCs, and there were two in one county so it went around the track to be signed off. What is the point of that? I am happy that we are an independent LAG. It does not get us out of all our problems but it does mean that we are responsible for our own fate, the captains of our own ships and masters of our own souls. We need to ask what was so wrong with the situation and what is right about where we are now.

We would like the opportunity to help rural Ireland. We have loads of ideas so ideas are not the problem. I give the Minister credit for recognising the flaws in the system but it is still not right from a structural point of view. We will get to the end of this programme and the money will all be spent and spent properly. However, LEADER is burying its talents in the ground. We want to make the most of what we have and do much more than we are doing at the moment. We feel, however, that we are not being facilitated.