Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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119. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the way this country will lose 10% of European funding now that Leader funding will not be given directly to development companies for distribution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17079/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Community Led Local Development ( CLLD ) is a method of involving partners at local level in EU programme delivery and decisions. It requires that funding decisions are made by a Local Action Group (LAG). There is no requirement that the funding be given directly to development companies. The LAG must be composed of representatives of public and private local socio-economic interests where ‘neither public authorities, nor any single interest group represent more than 49% of the voting rights’. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provides for the establishment of Local Community Development Committees in line with this EU requirement.

The LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 (RDP) will be delivered using a Community Led Local Development approach as required under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The EAFRD also provides that LEADER must comprise a minimum of 5% of the programme. As already announced, the Government has decided to allocate 7% of the programme funding to LEADER.