Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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306. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total value of projects approved fully to date under the Leader programme 2014-2020 broken down by local action group; the total amount of expenditure by her Department on projects to date, broken down similarly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15191/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Expenditure of approximately €1.35 million has been incurred to date in 2017 under the LEADER 2014-2020 programme. This represents expenditure incurred on administration and animation costs by the Local Action Groups (LAGs) who deliver the programme.

While no project expenditure has yet been incurred under the LEADER 2014-2020 programme, the LAGs are currently concluding calls for proposals and are working with potential applicants to develop and finalise project applications in each LEADER sub-regional area.

To date, 15 projects have been approved for LEADER funding with a total value of €308,136.37. A breakdown of these approvals is provided on Table 1.

A total of 3,953 Expressions of Interest from potential applicants, with an estimated value of over €183 million, have been recorded on the LEADER ICT system in respect of the new programme. Table 2 provides a breakdown of the Expressions of Interest received in each sub-regional area.

On the basis of the progress now being made by the LAGs, I anticipate a significant increase in project approvals and payments over the coming months.

Table 1 – Projects approved to date for funding under LEADER 2014-2020

Table 2 – Expressions of Interest (EOIs) recorded under LEADER 2014-2020