Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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313. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the progress on the programme for Government commitment to increasing funding for the LEADER programme; the total annual amount of LEADER funding allocated in 2016; the total amount drawn down to date in 2016; and the allocation for 2017 LEADER funding. [40818/16]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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314. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total annual amount of LEADER funding allocated in 2016 by county, in tabular form; the total amount drawn down to date in each county; and the allocation by county for 2017 LEADER funding. [40819/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 314 together.

The LEADER programme plays a central role in the rejuvenation of rural communities throughout Ireland. The 2014-2020 LEADER programme has become operational this year, with Funding Agreements signed for the delivery of 28 Local Development Strategies.

Funding under the 2014-2020 LEADER programme is allocated on the basis of sub-regional areas, rather than on a county administrative basis. Table 1 below shows details of the allocations for the sub-regional areas that were made in 2016 to cover the full duration of the programme. These allocations are not annualised to allow greater flexibility over the course of the programming period to the Local Action Groups which manage the programme in each area. In addition to the €220 million in allocations detailed on the table, a further €30 million in competitive funding is available over the lifetime of the programme for Cooperation projects, Artisan Food projects and Rural Economic Development Zones. An initial call for Cooperation projects was announced on 23^rdNovember 2016.

The total amount of funding paid out by my Department this year related to LEADER, as of 30th November 2016, was approximately €8.6 million. This figure, which is provisional, includes payments made in respect of the 2007-2013 LEADER programme as well as the 2014-2020 programme. Further payments were processed in December and the final expenditure figure for 2016 will be published in 2017 as part of my Department's Appropriation Account.

Expenditure under LEADER is expected to increase in 2017 as the programme becomes fully operational. A sum of €40 million has been allocated for LEADER payments in 2017 as part of the Estimates process. The Government is committed to ensuring that there is appropriate funding available to the LEADER programme over its lifetime and funding requirements will be reviewed on a year-by-year basis as part of the annual Estimates process.

Table 1: Disbursements for LEADER 2014-2020 allocations by sub-regional area