Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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1039. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will seek additional funding to address concerns regarding Leader (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21495/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Leader element of the Rural Development Programme 2014–2020 will provide €250 million in financial resources to support the development of sustainable rural communities. 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 programme complement for the 2014-2020 period has been allocated based on administrative or county boundaries to 28 sub-regional areas.

A further €10 million has been allocated to the cooperation element of the programme. €15 million has been allocated for the delivery of two agri-food schemes which will be managed jointly by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and my Department. In addition, €5 million is being held in reserve for the purposes of supporting the Rural Economic Development Zones (REDZ) initiative, pending the successful outcome of a Pilot scheme as identified in the report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA).

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. It should be noted that 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, including those counties referred to by the Deputy in the details supplied, was allocated a proportionate share of the funding available through the Leader elements of the programme.