Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment, and the Minister for coming to the House. This issue concerns the Arigna Catchment Area Community Company, to which the Minister has been very helpful. The Minister is aware that this company deals with all the electoral areas in County Leitrim and north Roscommon — Boyle, Castlerea, Ballaghaderreen and Strokestown. Of this area, 90% has been designated a CLÁR area.

The area of Leitrim and north Roscommon has long been associated with both population decline and rural decline. The Arigna Catchment Area Community Company has gone a long way towards addressing this problem in a collective and planned way. The company is certainly having an impact on the area and in terms of creating jobs. Leitrim and Roscommon are the only counties in Ireland where deaths exceed births. Three quarters of the total catchment area is rural, with only four towns having a population of over 1,000.

The Arigna Catchment Area Community Company has a proven record. I understand, based on statistics from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, that it is among the top three Leader programmes in the country. However, I am worried about the call to abolish the Arigna Leader programme and reorganise the programme on a countywide basis.

The Arigna Catchment Area Community Company is a unique Leader programme. People in north Roscommon do not simply deal with the entire county. They shop in Carrick-on-Shannon, Sligo or towns in Leitrim. They have worked very closely in a joint tourism initiative between north Roscommon and Leitrim. A new structure should be developed which can collectively address the shared problems of Leitrim and north Roscommon. It is about people and delivering maximum resources and the Arigna Leader programme has proved it can do this.

The area's dependence on the building industry is worrying. A considerable amount of construction is taking place as part of the upper Shannon renewal process. I am concerned that this work will come to a halt and that there will be no cohesive body in place to deal with the problems caused by a decline in the building trade. Many farmers have moved into the building trade and the same grouping will not be present.

I can understand the Minister's perspective but if the Arigna Leader programme is joined with the rest of the county, it could result in the programme losing out on cross-Border funding. For the past 15 years, people in north Roscommon witnessed other counties availing of the International Fund for Ireland while north Roscommon was unable to avail of it. The area is now receiving funding for some projects through the Arigna Leader programme and people are very satisfied with this situation.

If people think the Leader programme should be reorganised on a countywide basis, it could be argued that all existing agencies should be disbanded and reorganised similarly. Attempts are being made to introduce decentralisation, both from Dublin to the regions and from county towns to regions where programme delivery is needed. Arigna is nearly 40 miles from Roscommon. I am not saying that the Leader programme will be based in Roscommon but we must examine decentralisation on a county basis. This is a vital argument to ensure the future of the Arigna Leader programme in north Roscommon and Leitrim.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Feighan for raising this issue on the Adjournment and welcome the opportunity to clarify what I have previously clarified in respect of the procedure currently taking place. The Leader area-based rural development initiative is delivered in County Leitrim and north County Roscommon by the Arigna Catchment Area Community Company based in Arigna, County Roscommon.

Under this EU co-funded initiative, €3,495,000 was allocated to the group to fund the delivery of its business plan for the period 2000-06. The business plan must be delivered in accordance with operating rules issued by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, which is the managing authority for Leader in Ireland.

Under the initiative, funding is available for a number of projects, including rural agritourism. The Arigna Leader programme has allocated €714,000 from its budget to fund rural agritourism projects. It has funded the development of tourism accommodation and integrated marketing campaigns for its area. Significant projects in place include the Leitrim-Roscommon walks network, Wild Rose Leisure on Lough Gill, the Agriculture and Farm Heritage Museum, Ballinamore, County Leitrim, and the development of walking and cycling routes in north Leitrim. As Senator Feighan noted, I have visited the area and hold the work carried out by the Arigna Leader programme in high regard. The fruits of its work are clear.

From 2007, a new rural development programme will be introduced which will cover all rural areas. The introduction of this new programme will provide rural development organisations and the communities they serve with opportunities and resources to work together for the betterment of their communities. Such opportunities will include rural tourism measures. The cohesion process aims to improve arrangements under which community and local development initiatives are delivered, and it is being further advanced this year. I allocated funding of €3,373,527 to city and county development boards in support of cohesion proposals developed by community and local development agencies. There will be a further €4,273,000 in cohesion funding available this year in support of improved cohesion and volunteering.

It is important to understand what I am trying to achieve. The core objective of the 2005-06 round of cohesion funding is the alignment of local, community and rural development organisations to achieve full area coverage of these programmes by the end of 2006. The local development social inclusion programme, LDSIP, should cover everyone in the State who needs a service, including lone parents, Travellers or anyone else, regardless of whether they live in the poshest or poorest road in town. The partnership must cover everyone and focus on the target groups. It is intended that the LDSIP will cover urban and rural areas in all parts of the State. Subject to discharging our obligations under EU requirements in regard to the selection of companies in rural areas, this will involve rural and local development groups coming together to secure a unified overarching structure which will provide full area coverage. In urban areas, this will involve local development groups securing full area cover, which is not currently the case in Dublin. Major areas and pockets of disadvantage were omitted.

The major advantage of such an approach is that the State will be able to deliver programmes such as the rural social scheme through these new unified structures because they will have all-area cover. My preference is for unified overarching structures based around county boundaries, where practicable. One could point to home and a Gaeltacht Leader partnership, but for linguistic reasons, one cannot service it through the local partnerships. However, I will consider variations across county boundaries on their merits. I want to make it clear that I have not closed that door.

As regards Leitrim and Roscommon, there are currently five companies providing services, two Leader companies and three partnerships. The intention from 2007 is that Leitrim and Roscommon will be served by fewer integrated companies, providing both local and rural development programmes. Proposals on the exact area covered by such companies are being developed by the relevant agencies. In this regard, proposals from Roscommon County Development Board have just been received in my Department and proposals from the Leitrim County Development Board are currently awaited. On receipt of proposals from both counties, the matter will be considered further in consultation with the local agencies on the ground.

The concern appears to be that it will be three versus one vote locally and I will sign off on it. I assure the Senator that the Leader and partnership programmes and the rural and social scheme will be delivered by one agency in one area the next time round. This aspect is non-negotiable.

In the long-term, people will see the merits of making the partnership go nationwide. However, if a good case is made and agreement is obtained, I am open to flexibility on whether to stick rigidly to county boundaries. I have purposely allowed for some leeway because I accept that one size does not fit all. What people in the area want is what will determine the outcome. Even though I do not know how I will work it out, I am sure the Senator will advise me on the issue.