Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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678. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the 19.73% or €1.7 million cut in funding to Longford leader in May 2013 and the high level of applications from high quality projects being shelved as a result of the cut, if he will look at allocating additional funding to LCRL and allow any returned unspent grants to LCRL to be reallocated within the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13327/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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In December 2013 I announced an additional €4 million under the LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 (RDP). Funding of €1 million was targeted at the Gaeltacht areas which suffered a loss of funding when Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta went into liquidation in 2011 and €3 million to the areas which experienced a reduction of greater than 15% in the revised allocation awarded in May 2013.

The €3 million was apportioned using the relevant Local Development Company’s original percentage of the Programme. Accordingly, Longford Community Resources Ltd (LCRL) was allocated an additional €172,105 and in line with the ‘bottom-up’ approach to rural development it is a matter for the Board of the LCRL to decide on what projects should be funded with this additional funding.

While the current programme is fully allocated, I anticipate the commencement of the LEADER element of the new 2014-2020 Rural Development P rogramme during 2015.