Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 452 and 458 together.

Mayo North East Leader Partnership (MNELP) is the Local Action Group contracted by my Department to deliver both the Rural Development Programme (RDP) and the Local Community Development Programme (LCDP) to the North Mayo area. On foot of correspondence received in 2011 regarding a possible governance issue at Mayo North East LEADER Partnership Company, a comprehensive investigation in to the issues outlined was instigated . This proved to be a very complex investigation and, on foot of its initial findings and in the context of the Department's responsibility to ensure that RDP funding is delivered in an efficient and effective way, a decision was made to suspend project approvals by MNELP on the 7 March 2012. However, it should also be noted that the issuing of payments to eligible approved applications is progressing as normal.

The Final Report, which has recently been made available to me, has been provided to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) (Managing Authority for the RDP) which has subsequently reported the findings to the European Commission and the external accreditation auditors (Deloitte). The findings of the investigation have also been reported to both the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation and the Standards in Public Office Commission and consideration of these findings will be subject to the relevant processes in these bodies. The Report is also under consideration in my own Department. It is critical that the funds delivered through the LEADER elements of the RDP are managed in an efficient and effective way , and the suspension of project approvals in MNELP will remain in place until I am satisfied that such approvals can proceed.

While we must ensure correct and proper management and implementation of the LEADER elements of the RDP from both a regulatory and value for money perspective, my Department's objective is to conclude the processes associated with this investigation with a view to reinstating access to RDP funds to the citizens of Mayo North East at the earliest possible opportunity, while ensuring regulatory compliance, value for money and maximum impact for the people of North Mayo. On foot of recent meetings with DAFM, my Department is currently developing an Action Plan that will provide the necessary assurances in these regards.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Mayo North East Leader Partnership (MNELP) is the Local Action Group contracted by my Department to deliver both the Rural Development Programme (RDP) and the Local Community Development Programme (LCDP) to the North Mayo area. MNELP were originally allocated €10,751,894.00 for the delivery of Axis 3 and 4 (LEADER) of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2007-2013 in the Mayo North East area. Implementation of the LEADER elements of the RDP commenced in 2009 and to 31 December 2012 MNELP has registered overall expenditure of €4,388,947.92 which includes both project and administration expenditure.

On the 31 December 2012, MNELP also had overall project activity of €5,764,242.40 which includes project pipeline activity or projects at the early stages of development. Full contractual commitments in MNELP amounted to €4,728,325.24, inclusive of expenditure. In late 2011 the European Commission approved a change in co-funding rates from 55% to 85% for Rural Development Programmes for countries that were part of the Financial Stabilisation Mechanism. Prior to this RDP measures were co-funded at a rate of 55% by the EU, with the remaining 45% coming from national exchequer sources.

The 2011 agreement reduces the national exchequer input to 15% for 2012 and 2013 without a concomitant increase in the amount of funding to be provided by the EU. This has resulted in a reduction in the overall Programme complement from €427m to €314m.

In this context the original funding allocations given to each Local Development Company contracted to deliver the LEADER elements of the RDP are no longer definitive and depend on the capacity of both the groups and their local areas to absorb the available funding within the required timeframes. However, in this context my Department is working closely with Local Development Companies to ensure that any community or individual in any geographical area who is eligible for funding under the RDP will have their applications dealt with in an efficient and effective manner and applications from all geographic areas will be considered equally as long as funding is available.