Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

Baineann an rún seo le Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta, MFG, Teo. Seo comhlacht pairtnéireachta a bhí ag cur seirbhísí tábhachtacha ar fáil do phobal na Gaeltachta, go háirithe na cláracha éagsúla a bhí ar siúl acu cosúil le clár Leader, Regional Development Programme, agus an clár áitiúil, Local Development Social Inclusion Programme, LDSIP. Chuir an comhlacht cúrsaí tréanála i bhfeidhm chomh maith. Is é an scéim is tábhachtaí, i mo thuairim, an ceann a cuireadh ar fáil faoi scéim Leader, mar go raibh an Ghaeltacht in ann buntáiste a fháil as an scéim sin go sonrach nuair a bhí sé i bhfeidhm.

Ar an drochuair, níl MFG ann níos mó. Ar 7 Meán Fómhair anuraidh, rinne bord MFG cinneadh deireadh a chur leis an chomhlacht de bharr impleachtaí trádála agus de bhrí go raibh deacrachtaí ag an chomhlacht féin. Dá bhrí sin, tá pobal na Gaeltachta ag cailleadh amach anois. Tá sé beagnach cúig mhí ó ghlach bord MFG an cinneadh deireadh a chur leis an chomhlacht.

MFG was a partnership company, like Louth Leader Partnership or Donegal Local Development Company Limited. It provided excellent services. It had staff employed and was administering Leader funds, the only funds available to many small businesses and community organisations. Since the board of MFG Teoranta decided to wind down on 7 September last year, no services are being provided and no Leader funds are going into the Donegal Gaeltacht because no administration structure is in place. It is now almost five months since it wound down, yet no alternative mechanism or administration process has been put in place to allow the transfer of Leader funds to Gaeltacht projects. As a result, the Gaeltacht is losing out.

I raise this matter in order to find out what progress has been made on the establishment of a new Gaeltacht partnership company located in the Gaeltacht and what opportunities will be available to the former staff of MFG or others who could be employed in the new partnership company. Does the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government have alternative solutions to the problem which has been ongoing for five months? The people of the Gaeltacht want Leader funds to be made available to projects. Leader funds available from 2007 to 2013 under Pillar ll of the Common Agricultural Policy amount to more than €5 billion and it is not fair that in the past five or six months Gaeltacht projects have been losing out.

The rural transport service is also losing out. Some operators in Gaeltacht areas were not paid before the company wound up. They are owed substantial amounts of money and unable to find out if they will ever see the money they are owed, even though it was paid by the Health Service Executive to MFG Teoranta which is now in liquidation. There must be some obligation on the Government to step in and resolve the issue, to end the uncertainty and pay those who are owed money. They include the former staff of MFG who have, to date, received only the statutory redundancy payment from the Department of Social Protection. They have not, as yet, received any redundancy payment from the company.

I hope the Minister of State will have some news for us because this issue has been ongoing for far too long. I understand there are legal and technical difficulties, but they must be resolved and Leader funds restored to Gaeltacht communities which are losing out.