Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is my first time to speak to the Minister on the floor of the House. Many people have congratulated him and I would like to add my voice. I did not always agree with him, but rural Ireland was at the heart of his policy and that suited me.

I have two questions. The €40 million package to community groups is really important and valuable. However, there are many community groups that run community centres. They may contain crèches, language schools and enterprise centres or they might just run card games, etc. However, they would not qualify for the Minister's new scheme. Those groups have no day-to-day income. They have increasing costs such as utility bills, insurance and so on. It is all run by volunteers meaning they have nothing to keep them going. They also know that when these centres start to open it will take time for whatever little businesses were there to get up on their feet again. Could the Minister give some direct help - some small grant aid - to keep these community groups on life support? As the Minister and I both know, with the closure of schools, post offices, etc. - I will not give a long list - very often the GAA pitch and the community centre are all that remain in rural Ireland and if they close, that is a disaster.

My second question relates to LEADER and the importance of transition funding. LEADER should be returned to community-led local development. As the Minister has said, that is for the incoming Minister. I ask for the Minister's support in allowing LEADER to increase its grant aid from 50% to 75% for the SME sector. As the Minister knows, some of the programmes were delayed. LEADER companies have money to spend and the Covid pandemic delayed the spending further.

Many SMEs cannot avail of 50% grant aid. It is not high enough with Covid-19. This money is there but it cannot be used by the SMEs that need it most. I know there can be issues concerning state aid, but the European Commission has said it is very flexible. Will the Minister, therefore, look at making changes to give higher levels of grant aid so that LEADER money is spent within the rules of state aid and the flexibility allowed by the European Commission?

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