Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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181. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if in the re-organisation of local development services he intends retaining Comhar na nOileán as the lead agency for all the offshore islands for the delivery of the LEADER, LCDP programmes and other programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30865/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I established an Alignment Working Group earlier this year, comprising local government and local development representatives, to advise and assist my Department on the implementation of new governance arrangement s as envisaged in Putting People First - Action Programme for Effective Local Government . A key term of reference of the Working Group is a consideration of the future management and delivery arrangements for a range of local development programm es, including LEADER and LCDP. These matters are still being considered by the Working Group and I believe it would be inappropriate for me to comment further until the Group's deliberations are completed.

It is my intention that the Socio-Economic Committees proposed by the Alignment Steering Group will have responsibility for the co-ordination, governance, planning and oversight of a broad range of local and community development programming at local level, including LEADER and LCDP. As key partners on the Socio-Economic Committees , local development companies will continue to have an important role in the delivery of programmes for which they are contracted by my Department and others.

As always, however, the continued implementation of local development programmes is influenced by the level of funding available, which remains to be decided as part of the Government's estimates process.