Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased with the positive contributions. However, I am a little disappointed with the Fianna Fáil contribution. Senator Paul Daly should note that if I really got going this evening I would have to vote down the Dáil. Fianna Fáil did not close post offices or rural Garda stations - it closed down the country. I will not take a history lesson from Senator Daly or Deputy Ó Cuív, who has never got over that he not a Minister - he really needs to get over that now. If Senator Daly is going to listen to Deputy Ó Cuív, then all we will have from the Senator and Fianna Fáil in the coming years is negativity.

I want to put on the record of the House this evening that rural Ireland is alive and well. Many positive things are happening in rural Ireland. I am pleased to be Minister with responsibility for this area. The Taoiseach is the first Taoiseach who ever appointed a Minister for Rural and Community Development. We have had Ministers with other responsibilities but he is the first Taoiseach who has ever appointed a full Minister at the Cabinet table to represent rural Ireland. I am proud and honoured that I was the person selected to do that job.

I have lived in rural Ireland for a long time and I know a great deal about it. I am not going to make any further contribution with regard to what Senator Daly talked about because it has been a positive debate today and I intend to build on the positive aspects of it.Senator Paul Daly spoke about the national planning framework. The national planning framework was set up to deal with and to improve regional development, involving the capital projects he mentioned, including the Leader programme and the other schemes that I have introduced. The Senator and Deputy Ó Cuív should both note that it takes a bit of time to develop capital projects. I can provide the facts concerning the Leader programme. The Senator made a very negative contribution about it, but I will make a positive contribution. Other speakers also mentioned the programme. Some €165 million was allocated to the Leader programme, and there are 342 applications waiting to be processed at the moment worth €19.26 million. Some 973 projects have been approved to the value of €27.934 million. They have been approved, but it takes time to build the building after approval, and then the money is drawn down. It is not like the old days when people come in with slips of paper with nothing on them. We then found ourselves in difficulty with Europe. The European Union complained about how the Leader programme was run. We have to have rules and regulations.

We made 31 changes to the Leader programme, and I am glad to say that most counties are rolling it out. For example, Kerry has 47 projects waiting to be assessed, worth €7.664 million. Some 123 applications have been dealt with there, to the value of €2.188 million. In Senator Paul Daly's county, €5 million was allocated. There are two projects waiting to be approved to the value of €25,966. There have been 31 approvals worth €473,460. That means that only 8.5% of the available money has been spent. In Limerick 31% has been spent. In Kerry 28% has been spent. In Cork North-East 26.6% has been spent. In Carlow 21.8%. There must be something wrong with Senator Paul Daly's county if it cannot deliver the programme. It faces the same rules and regulations as exist in Kerry, Limerick and everywhere else. I have made the changes to the Leader programme and I monitor it on a daily basis. If I need to make further changes I will make them, but I have to comply with rules and regulations.

The Senator spoke about the size of the Department and the underspend. He should talk to the former Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, who never got over losing the Ministry and still thinks he is the Minister.