Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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20. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funding provided for new LEADER projects for 2021; the funding identified for the delivery and administration of the LEADER programme for 2021; the reason no interim national rural development plan has been announced for the period 2021 to 2023 as was committed to in the programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33585/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, due to delays at EU level, the next EU LEADER programme will not commence until 2022 at the earliest.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to prioritise a State-led programme to bridge the gap between the current LEADER programme and the next EU programme. The objective of this Transitional Programme is to allow locally-led rural development projects to continue to be delivered using the LEADER model until the new EU programme commences.

The duration of the transitional period at EU level has not yet been agreed. We are therefore planning for Ireland’s Transitional Programme to run for an initial period of 12 months, but with the scope to extend this if necessary, to align with the outcome of the discussions at EU level between the Commission and the Parliament.

The total allocation for LEADER next year is €44 million. This allocation will be used to fund existing projects as they come to completion and submit payment claims. It will also fund new projects to be approved under the Transitional Programme, and it will support the administration costs of the LAGs in closing out the existing programme and delivering the Transitional Programme.

It is important to recognise that LEADER is a multi-annual programme and that payments in respect of projects which are approved in any given year are generally not drawn down until subsequent years as the projects are completed. Therefore, costs related to projects under the Transitional Programme are likely to be met from the provision in my Department’s Vote in 2022 and 2023, as well as in 2021.

The details of the Transitional Programme are currently being finalized and I hope to be in a position to announce the full details of project and administration allocations under the Programme shortly.