Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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72. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the current EU MFF budgetary proposals for the period 2021 to 2027 allocated to Ireland under the LEADER heading of pillar II of the CAP notwithstanding the possibility of potential changes to the proposed EU and CAP budget. [43982/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The LEADER programme, is co-financed by the European Commission under Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), through the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

The budget for the CAP for the period 2021-2027 will form part of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), or the EU Budget for that period. The MFF has not yet been formally agreed at EU level.

However, draft Regulations for the post-2020 CAP published by the European Commission propose that a minimum of 5% of EAFRD funding be allocated to LEADER. This is in line with the current Rural Development Regulations.

However, the level of funding available for LEADER will not be clear until the EU budget and Member States’ allocations under the CAP are agreed. This may not be finalised until early 2021.