Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if existing inter-county Leader programmes will cease under the delivery of the new Leader programme in favour of single county structures; if existing rural development programmes will finish as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32628/07]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Arising from the joint ministerial initiative on the review of local and community development structures, the Government agreed a series of measures in January 2004 to improve arrangements under which community and local development initiatives are delivered and to improve cohesion and focus across various measures. This process is informed by the following guiding principles: improving on the ground services; streamlining structures to avoid overlaps, duplication and undue administrative overheads; bringing transparency, co-ordination and improved control to the funding and operation of local and community development measures; and strengthening the democratic accountability of agencies and providers in this area.

The core objective of the process is to simplify and improve local delivery of programmes operated by my Department through the integration and alignment of local delivery structures. The intention is that for the future, there will be one local development company in any given area and fewer local development companies overall. This will provide full county coverage and eliminate overlaps and previous fragmented arrangements.

Following exhaustive consultations with and between the local agencies to develop the most suitable configurations of groups, the Government decided on revised areas of coverage for local development companies in March of this year and clarified the arrangements in respect of the membership of the boards of these bodies in late July. Leader and partnership groups have been asked to give effect to these decisions and my Department has provided detailed guidelines to secure this outcome.

The realignment of local delivery structures will bring the overall number of local development delivery bodies to 55, comprising 38 integrated Leader-partnership bodies in rural areas and 17 partnerships covering urban areas. In most cases, the Government agreed that coverage areas would be aligned with county and city boundaries, with the number of structures in a county determined on the basis of population and overall geography. Some companies will continue to operate on a cross-county basis and there would be no objection to companies in separate areas taking a joint approach to the rural development programme.

The existing Leader+ and NRDP programmes for 2000 to 2006 have now effectively concluded and the process of closing the programmes is under way. Applications will shortly be sought from prospective local action groups with regard to the implementation of the new rural development programme 2007-2013. My Department is providing funding to Leader companies to enable them to meet their obligations regarding the administration and closure of the 2000 to 2006 programmes and maintain continuity and expertise pending the commencement of the new rural development programme. Transitional arrangements are also being put in place in respect of other development schemes, such as the rural social scheme, pending the necessary administrative adjustments arising from the boundary changes coming into effect.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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How many current inter-county programmes will be affected by this change in the structure? Could the Minister also tell me how many people working with existing Leader companies will be affected by job losses? A suggestion has been made by Leader groups, particularly in Cavan-Monaghan, that what the Minister is doing breaches EU regulations. Will the Minister respond to this?

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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In response to the last question, I am confident this is not so. In respect of the number of groups that were cross-county and are now single county, off the top of my head, I cannot give the Deputy an answer. As far as I can remember, part of one of the groups in Mayo extended into west Sligo. That has now become a county group in Sligo. In respect of Leitrim north Roscommon, I understand that they are setting up a body in Leitrim and a body in Roscommon. There was already a Cavan partnership and a Monaghan partnership, while the Leader programme was a joint programme for the two counties. Since we are amalgamating the Leader and partnership programmes, they could not agree as to whether it would be a Leader partnership for the two counties or two Leader partnerships. That was where the difficulty arose there. There were a number of community partnerships in Kilkenny and south Tipperary so it does not just relate to Leader companies. There will be one in Kilkenny and another in south Tipperary.

One must understand that there were partnership groups involved in every part of this process as well. We are maintaining Duhallow, a programme in a part of County Limerick whose name escapes me at the moment and the Gaeltacht and the islands because the Gaeltacht does not lend itself to a county structure and it is important to provide services.

It is obviously up to new bodies in respect of employment but the intention was to employ everybody. Where some body stands outside the process——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I want to find time for another brief supplementary question.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Where a body is outside the process, its employees are its affair.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister accepts that the Leader companies have done a good job where they have been working even if there were two in particular counties. Now that they are being amalgamated, people are concerned that there will be job losses but the Minister has confirmed that most of these people will move in with the company that is selected.

When is it expected to announce Leader IV and its funding? Many people, particularly in rural areas, wait to apply for grant aid and companies are waiting for their funding. When does the Minister expect to have it up and running?

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Most of the companies have now been set up under the new structure. As the Deputy is aware, the Leader company in Cavan-Monaghan wrote to the EU. They wrote to us and we replied to them. I hope to move ahead very shortly and announce the programme. The good thing is that full funding for the programme is still preserved so no matter when we start, it is still there for the 2007-2013 period so the money is secured. I am very anxious to proceed with this.

Nobody has ever criticised any work carried out by Leader companies or partnerships. People always tell us that we have too many bodies out there. All I would maintain is that in the overall scheme of things, it is better to have the one agency delivering the partnership, the rural social scheme and the Leader programmes in any one given area. It is better for the community and at the end of the day, I always look to what the ordinary person on the side of the street would like and I think they like the idea of one community-based partnership agency being able to provide all the services.