Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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761. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when final announcements will be made in relation to the forthcoming Leader programme; if it is intended to allow all local community development committees to approve grants of up to €500,000 for non-commercial projects, as in the programme for 2007 to 2013; if not, the proposed ceilings for grants in the new programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13943/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Under the EU regulatory framework governing the Leader element of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, each EU Member State must conduct an open and transparent process to select both the Local Development Strategies and the Local Action Group(s) for each sub-regional area. Accordingly, my Department is conducting a two stage process. The first stage, which is an Expressions of Interest (EOI) stage, was recently launched and any entity wishing to be considered as a Local Action Group for their area has until 15 May 2015 to submit an EOI. Further details are available on my Department’s website at: .

Entities successful in the first stage of the process will be invited and supported in Stage Two of the process, which is the design of a Local Development Strategy for their area. I expect that some Local Development Strategies will be operational and funding available by Autumn 2015.

My Department is currently developing the management systems and procedures, which will govern the new programme. I envisage that details of the arrangements that will apply for the new programme, including in relation to the rates of aid and grant ceilings referred to in the Question, will be available before the commencement of the second phase of the Local Development Strategy selection process in the early part of the third quarter of 2015.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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762. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to review the allocation of funding between counties under the new Leader programme, in view of the fact that larger counties with very dispersed populations and high rurality indexes will receive much less funding, per capita, compared to small counties with much smaller rural populations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13944/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Ireland is reconfiguring the way in which local and rural development interventions are implemented. This is in line with Government policy to ensure that local government is well positioned to support the effective and efficient delivery of local and rural development. In this context , €220 million of the overall Leader programme complement for the 2014-2020 period has been allocated based on administrative or county boundaries to 28 sub-regional areas. In determining the county allocations, three objective criteria were used, namely, minimum allocation, population density and a Resource Allocation Model (RAM). Each county was given a minimum allocation of €3 million to ensure that each received a viable allocation. However, Cork County was allocated €6 million as a minimum in order to ensure a viable allocation to each of the three administrative districts within the county, as the overall population outside of the city is almost twice that of any other county. The methodology used to calculate the allocations was designed to ensure that the available funding was weighted towards the most rural populations and those experiencing most rural disadvantage. Using this methodology, which I am satisfied is fair and consistent, each county was allocated a proportionate share of the funding available through the Leader elements of the RDP.

While the allocation for the Leader element of the 2014-2020 Programme is less than the value of the Leader element of 2007 – 2013 programme, I am confident that within the confines of the fiscal environment we have experienced in the recent past, the Government has allocated the maximum amount possible to support the Leader elements of the 2014-2020 programme. The Government’s drive to increase coordination at a local level and the commitment to the delivery of the recommendations in the CEDRA report, will ensure that the impact of the funding, while decreased, will be maximised to support the sustainable development of our rural communities. In this context, I have no plans to review the funding allocations.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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763. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if it will be a condition of the new Leader programme that the Leader programme for the islands will be delivered by an island-based operational company; if not, the reason for the change in policy from the 2007 to 2013 programme; the estimated loss of island-based jobs in the event of an island-based Leader company not delivering the new programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13945/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Under the EU regulatory framework governing the Leader element of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, each EU Member State must conduct an open and transparent process to select both the Local Development Strategies and the Local Action Group(s) for each sub-regional area. Accordingly, my Department is conducting a two stage process. The first stage, which is an Expressions of Interest (EOI) stage, was recently launched and any entity wishing to be considered as a Local Action Group for their area has until 15 May 2015 to submit an EOI. Further details are available on my Department’s website at: .

Local Action Groups and Local Development Strategies will be selected by an independent selection committee, established specifically for that purpose. Entities successful in the first stage of the process will be invited and supported in stage two of the process, which is the design of a Local Development Strategy for their area. I expect that some Local Development Strategies will be operational and funding available for these by Autumn 2015.

At this stage it would not be appropriate for me to speculate as to the outcome of the Leader Local Development Strategy selection process. However, all expressions of interest will be considered within the framework outlined in the process detailed above.