Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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593. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the drawdown of the LEADER funding in County Meath; and if he is satisfied with the level of drawdown. [47643/19]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The LEADER programme is administered in County Meath by the Meath Local Action Group (LAG). The total amount of funding allocated to the county for the duration of the 2014-2020 LEADER Programme is in excess of €6.9 million.

To date, 69 projects with a combined grant value of over €3.1 million have been approved by the LAG. A further project, seeking funding of €300,000, is at an earlier stage of the approvals process.

To date, claims totalling €508,852 have been paid in respect of projects in County Meath. Project payments will increase as further works are completed on approved projects and claims for payment are submitted by the project promoters.

My Department has reviewed the delivery of the programme with the Meath LAG and explored implementation issues with all of the delivery partners in Meath. Following on from this review, the LAG has indicated that at least 80% of the project budget available to Meath will be allocated by the end of 2019. This would be consistent with the objectives of the programme nationally and I will continue to monitor the achievement of this target for the reminder of the year.