Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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899. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the criteria used in allocating funds under the Leader Programme 2007 to 2013; the amount initially allocated to each integrated development company; the amount spent to date under the 2007 to 2013 programme by each company, broken down between administration and projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11786/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The criteria used in allocating funds under the LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme 2007 to 2013 was determined using four variables: (i) the population of each eligible area; (ii) the Local Action Group's (LAGs) Business Plan score; (iii) the population density of each area (as a proxy for its degree of rurality); and (iv) the total envelope of funds to be distributed. At the commencement of the Programme €400 million was allocated to the LAGs. The original allocations are set out in Table 1.

In late 2011, the European Commission offered Member States that were part of the Financial Stabilisation Mechanism an opportunity to avail of an increased co-financing rate from 55% up to 85%. The increased rate was to apply to 2012 and 2013 expenditure only. This reduced the Programme value to approximately €370 million and was based on the co-financing rate returning to 55% for 2014 and 2015. In addition, €5 million was provided for an agri-food measure. Accordingly, in 2013 my Department revised the LAG allocations to meet the reduced value of the Programme. The revised allocations are set out in Table 2.

Overall expenditure under the Programme is currently at €342 million, with €265 million spent on projects, €12 million on animation expenses and €65 million on administration. The expenditure position at each LAG is set out in Table 3.

Table 1: Original LAG Allocations

Table 2: Revised LAG allocations

Table 3: Spend to date per LAG