Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There has been much discussion this morning about rural Ireland issues. We need to have a debate in the House with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, as a matter of urgency, on the Leader programme and the performance of local development companies. Figures recently published by the Minister show that last year only 60% of the funding provided for the Leader programme was drawn down and spent. This means €39 million for projects was not spent in rural Ireland. In my county, the Galway Rural Development Company has only spent €4.6 million to date or 40% of the €12 million budget. Although FORUM Connemara has allocated its €7.7 million budget, it has only paid out 26% or approximately €2 million. We need to know what we can do to help local development companies draw down the money because it cannot be reallocated and therefore it could be lost. These are significant amounts of money for badly-needed projects in rural Ireland and they are not getting the funding. If there are blockages or reasons why groups are unable to draw down matching funding then we need to have a debate to ensure the money will not be lost to the economy and the various community groupings in rural Ireland.