Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will have the same amount in this LEADER programme as we had in the last, which is a total of €250 million. Some €70 million has already been provided to fund the transition programme from 2021 to 2022. A further €180 million has been committed to for 2023 to 2027. We will be funding that. On top of this core funding, additional administration Exchequer funding has been put in place for LEADER groups which have exhausted all such existing funding in 2022. I wanted to make sure there would be no stoppages and groups would be able to continue to pay staff, because we knew this programme was coming very soon. It gives local action groups certainty regarding their funding until the new programme is operational. As far as I concerned, they got €250 million of LEADER funding in the last programme and they will get €250 million in this programme.

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