Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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185. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of Leader funding; if it is expected that Brexit will have any implications on Leader funding and the way it is administered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12322/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The total amount of funding available for Ireland’s LEADER Programme 2014-2020 is €250 million. €220 million of this funding has been allocated to the 28 LEADER sub-regional areas in Ireland and will be delivered through the LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) selected in each area. The remaining €30 million will be managed at a national level for targeted investment initiatives.

I do not anticipate that the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union will impact on the funding available to Ireland in the current programme, or to the way it is administered.

Part of the €30 million funding available for targeted initiatives at national level is for a Co-operation strand of LEADER. This strand is designed to encourage two or more LAGs to work in partnership on joint projects benefitting each participating area. These partners can be other Irish LAGs, or LAGs based in other EU Member States, including those in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

€10 million has been allocated for Co-operation projects in Ireland during the lifetime of the 2014-2020 LEADER Programme. I announced the first €3 million tranche of funding for Co-operation projects in December 2016 and I expect that some of this funding will be used for projects between LAGs in Ireland and those in Northern Ireland and/or the rest of the United Kingdom.

My understanding at this stage is that it will still be possible for LEADER LAGs in Ireland to co-operate with their counterparts in the United Kingdom in the event of the United Kingdom leaving the EU, as the EU Regulations governing the programme allow for co-operation with groups in non-EU Member States.