Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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100. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if, given the current LEADER programme is worth €70 million less than the last programme, excluding the transition programme, there are plans to increase funding to the current LEADER programme. [40501/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. It supports a broad range of activities which aim to respond to the diversity of the local needs of our rural areas.

It is delivered through Local Action Groups (LAGs) across rural Ireland. A feature of the LEADER programme is that it is based on a community-led, bottom-up approach to rural development.

Funding is allocated to the LEADER programme through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The CAP programming periods correspond to the EU's budgetary cycle. Under the current budgetary cycle which runs from 2021-2027 a total of €250 million has been made available for the LEADER programme.

This funding is made up of €70 million for the Transitional LEADER programme for the years 2021 and 2022 with the remaining €180 million allocated for the period 2023-2027, thus maintaining the level of funding for the programme in line with the corresponding 7 year cycle for the 2014-2020 LEADER programme.

I am confident that the level of funding allocated for the 2021-2027 programming period is sufficient to meet the demand for grant funding from rural communities and businesses and to continue the effective operation of the LEADER programme.

In addition to the LEADER programme there are a range of schemes, funded outside of the CAP, that have been implemented in recent years, such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Walks Scheme, and the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme all of which contribute to enhancing our rural areas. The range of rural development schemes have seen unprecedented levels of investment in recent years.