Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the way in which he envisages that Leader type programmes will be funded following the end of the Leader programme at the end of 2006; and if he will set up new structures or incorporate some of the leader functions into the local Government structure. [15815/05]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The final date for project commitments under the existing Leader programmes is the end of December 2006. The draft EU regulation on rural development, to cover the period 2007-13, is published and is under negotiation. This draft regulation, and the associated guidelines to be published by the European Commission, will outline the scope and options for rural development programmes, including Leader type programmes, for the post-2006 period.

The draft EU regulation provides that elements of the rural development programmes will be delivered by local action groups who must: propose an integrated local development strategy; have already been involved in the delivery of a Leader initiative or be a new group representing partners from the various locally based socio-economic sectors in the territory concerned; and have the ability to define and implement a development strategy for the area. When this process at EU level is complete, my Department will look at the opportunities and delivery mechanisms to be used in maximising the available funding for the benefit of rural communities.