Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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557. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the progress that has been made with the new Leader programme; when it will be launched; the criteria required; and when projects will be lodged. [3871/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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My Department is currently working with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the European Commission to finalise the text of the Rural Development Programme. I met with the European Commission in this context on Wednesday 21 January 2015, and I can assure the Deputy that significant progress in terms of finalising arrangements for the programme has been made over the last number of weeks.

I hope to be in a position shortly to begin the process whereby I will accept Expressions of Interest from local development and community groups to design and implement LEADER Local Development Strategies for the Rural Development Programme. The LEADER Local Development Strategy selection process will be open to any entity that can show broad local and community participation and that has a coherent vision for the development of their area.

While the Government’s preferred outcome is one Local Development Strategy for each area, there will be no limit on the number of groups that can express an interest from within a sub-regional area. The Expressions of Interest will be evaluated and entities will be selected to develop prospective Local Development Strategies through a process of assessment by an independent Evaluation Committee, comprising an independent chair, officials from my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, along with external rural and local development expertise.

Notwithstanding the level of work to be done in advance of the programme becoming operational, I expect that the programme will be in a position to start selecting Local Development Strategies for implementation by mid-2015.