Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is the third time I have addressed the roll-out of Leader programme funding from Deputy Michael Ring's Department. I believe the process is totally wrong. If a community group applies, it has to undergo what is called an article 48 check. There are 66 questions on just article 48. Every question has to be answered. It then goes back to the Carlow County Development Partnership, CCDP, and Pobal several times, then the local community development committee, LCDC, which is the main group handling this, then to the Department. It then returns to the LCDC. In over two years, only €150,000 has been spent through the Leader programme. Some €10.5 million is waiting to be approved.

This approval process takes forever because there are so many stages to go through. In Carlow, there has been one approval with about ten offers that are still with the Department. This is a national issue. This programme involves €250 million over seven years. We are over two years into this process, with very little funding going out. I am beginning to believe that the Minister has put this process in place so that people do not get their funding. The Minister, Deputy Ring, needs to come into this Chamber to address this issue and the process that these community groups have waited in for so long for their funding.