Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the latest date by which all Leader funding will be approved for projects under the Leader Programme 2014 to 2020; the amount available for projects under the programme; the percentage and amount of the project funding allocated to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19099/18]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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LEADER is a multi-annual EU co-funded programme to support rural development.  Ireland has an allocation of €250 million under the programme over the period 2014-2020, including both national and EU funding. The programme is administered by Local Action Groups (LAGs) who deliver funding in accordance with Local Development Strategies that have been produced for each LAG area. Projects can continue to be approved under the programme up to the end of 2020.

€220 million of the available funding has already been allocated to the 28 LEADER sub-regional areas throughout the country. This funding will be delivered in accordance with the Local Development Strategies for each area. The amount of funding available for projects, as outlined in these Local Development Strategies, is €164.5 million.  The remainder of the €220 million covers the administration costs of the LAGs and their engagement with communities to generate projects.

Of this €164.5 million, almost €27 million has already been allocated to over 900 projects, representing over 16% of the total project allocation outlined in the LAG strategies. This funding will be drawn down as projects start to incur expenditure and submit payment claims.

In addition, a further €30 million is available to be allocated at a national level under a number of separate measures, including a food project initiative and support for co-operation projects where LAGs come together to jointly deliver a LEADER project. These are at an initial stage of delivery and will include funding for both projects and the administration and animation costs of the LAGs.   

While the pace of approvals varies between LAGs, I am confident that the progress made by the LAGs in 2018, along with the administrative improvements introduced over the last year, will result in a significant increase in project approvals and payments under the LEADER programme over the coming months.