Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

684. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the value of all projects approved by each LAG under the Leader programme; the amount expended on projects by each LAG to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31940/18]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A breakdown of project approvals and expenditure by Local Action Groups (LAGs) under the 2014-2020 LEADER Programme is provided in Table 1.

The level of project activity has increased significantly in recent months, and 1,150 projects have now been approved for funding of over €34.2 million.  A further 298 project applications requesting an additional €18.7 million are at various stages in the approval process.

Project payments under the programme to date amount to over €3.4 million, with almost €2.8 million of this having been paid out in 2018.

While the pace of approvals and payments varies between LAGs, I am confident that the progress now being made by the LAGs in approving projects, along with the administrative improvements which my Department introduced over the last year, will result in a continued increase in project approvals and payments under the LEADER programme over the coming months.

Table 1: Total LEADER Approvals and Expenditure by LAG as of 10th July 2018