Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To date, 738 projects have been approved, to the value of €20.8 million. A further 318 projects seeking €16 million have been approved. I sat down with Deputy Ó Cuív and Deputy Kyne. We met the group there and, to be fair to them, they wrote to me afterwards to tell me that they hope to spend and to have the programme up and running shortly. I hope that they will. I want to see the funding spend. I made the changes. I made it easier for these groups to make applications. I cannot do any more about the Leader programme. I will bring in the national organisation again next week. If there are other difficulties and other changes that it wants me to make, I will make them.

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