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 Of the 45 expressions of interest received, 1 was formally withdrawn before assessment.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 later this Autumn, with all areas operational and processing applications by early 2016.