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. Under stage one of the selection process for the new programme, any entity who wished to be considered as a Local Action Group was invited to submit an expression of interest. For the purposes of the new programme, there are 28 sub-regional areas in Ireland and 45 separate expressions of interest were received. A single expression of interest was received in 19 of the 28 areas and at least 2 expressions of interest were received in the remaining 9 areas. Of the 45 expressions of interest received, I was formally withdrawn before assessment. Of the remaining 44, 42 met the minimum criteria and have proceeded to the next stage of the process, which is the preparation of local development strategies for their areas.

A minimum of 6 months will be allowed for the preparation of local development strategies. However, I expect that not all areas will require the full 6 months to prepare their strategies. Indeed, I am hopeful that many areas will have their strategies approved and be in a position to begin delivery on the ground by Autumn 2015, with all areas operational and processing applications by early 2016.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The purpose of the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 is to provide resources to rural communities to support projects and interventions that will address the priority issues of social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas.

The LEADER elements of Rural Development Programme are delivered using a community led local development approach, where rural communities themselves are the drivers of projects to support the sustainable development of their own areas.

The definition of rural areas for the purposes of the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme encompasses all areas outside of the five main cities - Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. In principle, any area that meets this definition of a rural area is eligible for LEADER funding.

It should be noted, however, that in the context of a full and comprehensive analysis of the needs and potential of a given area, a Local Action Group may decide that some areas within their sub-region may need LEADER resources more than others and may prioritise these areas in their local development strategy. Such decisions are entirely within the remit of the Local Action Group and my Department plays no role in determining which areas may or may not have access to LEADER funding.