Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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117. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will outline their engagements regarding the LEADER programme in the context of ongoing negotiations in relation to the next European Union Multi-Annual Financial Framework; his priorities for the next LEADER programme; if he plans to seek a reversal of the cuts in real terms that have been implemented across successive recent programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26189/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The LEADER programme is co-financed by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), through the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development. It is connected to Objective 8 of the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP). The budget for the CAP for the period 2021-2027 forms part of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), or the EU Budget for that period. The total amount of funding allocated to LEADER for the period of 2021-2027 is €250 million, maintaining the level of funding of the previous 2014-2020 programming period.

The European Commission recently launched a public consultation on the MFF and the policies it should support. This consultation was distributed by my Department to all LEADER stakeholders nationally. The European Commission plans to put forward its formal proposal for the post 2027 MFF later this year.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to engage at EU level to increase funding for the next LEADER programme. My Department will work closely with colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to ensure that the funding allocated in the MFF can support the specific objectives of the CAP, including the economic, environmental and social sustainability of rural areas and communities. Following the agreement of the MFF, work will begin on the drafting of a new CSP for the period post-2027. Indicative financial allocations, including those for the LEADER programme, will be agreed as part of this work.

The current LEADER programme runs to 2027 and is up and running across the country. I look forward to seeing the wide range of impactful projects that are approved and implemented by Local Action Groups across the country in the coming months and years.