Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to the tabular details of the funding, as requested in the question. It could be construed and may appear that the Government could be on course to underspend significantly on this programme due to failure to plan effectively. This being the case, at this juncture would the Government not allow immediately Leader companies to approve additional projects, based on the fact that no additional funding can be allocated after March 2015? Based on previous years, there is a 10% rate of non-take-up and consequently, would it not be appropriate, prudent or effective for the Government to allow Leader companies to put in place a qualified list and qualified commitments? This could be done rather than maintaining the hard and fast rules in which the Government seeks to establish the position after the horse has bolted by virtue of what commitments were made, what was spent at the end of 2013, an examination of those figures with a view to making a decision on how this might meet the demand in the following year and so on. Would it not be a lot easier to allow for companies to make qualified commitments, which are understood by those who may be in receipt of them, should the opportunity arise, on the basis of the failures of others, to maximise the potential or the use approved to the latter in the initial allocations?

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