Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá go leor ceisteanna le cur faoi feidhmiú an chláir Leader sa Ghaeltacht, atá á ardú agam inniu. Tá a fhios againn gur imigh Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta Teoranta as feidhm in 2011. Tá go leor ceisteanna faoi sin freisin. Bhí roinnt clár faoi scáth Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta, an clár forbartha tuaithe agus an clár forbartha áitiúil ina measc. Ó shin i leith, tá sé de chúram ar an Roinn socruithe a dhéanamh maidir leis na cláir seo sna ceantair Ghaeltachta. Cá seasann an próiseas sin faoi láthair? Tá sé ag tógáil cuid mhaith ama. D'ardaigh mé an cheist seo go minic leis an Aire ó thús na bliana. An fhadhb atá ann ná go gcuirfidh na socruithe atá le déanamh, dé réir mar a chloisim, sórt gunna le cloigne na gcomhlachtaí atá ag plé leis na cláir seo. Tá na comhlachtaí teagmhasacha, nó cineál comhlachtaí béaldorais, tar éis conarthaí a fháil leis an gclár Leader a chur i bhfeidhm sa Ghaeltacht. Tá dhá chuid sa chlár Leader. Níl a fhios ag cuid de na tograí a bhí faoi scáth Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta cén seasamh nó stádas atá acu agus na conarthaí nua le tabhairt amach. Cá seasann an clár Leader?

Tá daoine amuigh ansin atá ag fanacht leis an airgead.

To summarise, the Leader programme has been handed to next door neighbour or contiguous companies to the Gaeltacht because of the demise of Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta, MFG. The programme itself has been in limbo in the Gaeltacht for the past year, since MFG fell by the wayside. There are legacy issues with regard to the programme and quite a number of projects have been left in limbo. A number of people involved in those projects have contacted me over the past year. For example, one community group in Donegal contacted me because it is ¤60,000 in the red with the bank. It has paid ¤4,500 interest on that loan in the past year, on moneys due to it from Leader. That group does not know where it stands. Another group which does not mind me putting its name on the record, Ionad Cultúrtha Baile Bhúirne, is in a similar position. It is owed ¤9,000 for a staidéar feidireachta or feasibility study for which it paid and which was to be paid from Leader funds. However, it has not received its moneys. I have also spoken to a number of individuals who had Leader projects who have been left high and dry. They were given part payment and had taken out loans or paid for services and goods, but have not received their funding from the Leader programme.

I believe two contracts are being offered to the contiguous companies to ensure the Leader programme continues. One is for the Leader project from now onwards. We need this to go ahead as soon as possible so that people can make applications and avail of and draw down the Leader funding so that it is spent in time. However, I am told that the gun is also being put to their head and that the contiguous companies must also sign a contract to take responsibility for all the legacy projects. They are not comfortable with that, because there is no sense of what is in the folders or whether the paper work has been done properly etc. I do not blame them for that.

Where do the people concerned stand? It is very unreasonable of the Department to force them into this situation and they should be allowed get on with the current Leader projects. The Department has had over a year to find some kind of a solution, legal or otherwise, to resolve the issues around the legacy projects which have been left in limbo. This is a hugely important issue. It is important on a personal level for all those involved in the projects. They need answers because they are being hounded by banks for moneys owed. It is unfair to leave them in that position.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus tá súil agam go mbeidh freagra dearfach aige dom.