Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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617. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total funding provided under the community services programme, by local authority/local authority area, in each of the years 2014 to 2024, and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [40583/25]

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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Responsibility for the Community Services Programme was transferred from the then Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to my Department on 01 January 2018. The Programme is administered by Pobal, on behalf of my Department. The total funding provided by my Department under the programme, by county and by local authority area, is detailed in the attached table.

[Attachment to follow]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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618. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total funding provided under the LEADER programme, by local authority/local authority area, in each of the years 2014 to 2024, and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [40584/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The current LEADER Programme, which runs to 2027, is operational across the country. It supports a broad range of enterprises and community groups to develop projects which improve the quality of life and economic activity in rural areas. It is delivered through Local Action Groups (LAGs) across rural Ireland, facilitating a community-led, bottom-up approach to rural development.

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 a multi-annual programme, with allocations being linked to a programming period, rather than an annual basis. The total amount of funding allocated to LEADER for the period 2021-2027 is €250 million, in line with the previous 7 year period.

Generally, the funding is allocated to the LAGs at the outset of the programme to provide them with greater flexibility to manage their budgets over the programming period. Funding is then paid out by my Department as costs are incurred and claims for payment are submitted.

The table below provides the allocation of funding by county, on a programme basis. (Figures provided on county basis as the local authority is not included in the LAG in every county). As some initiatives, such as the LEADER food initiatives and co-operation measures, had standalone processes and were not allocated in advance, these are not captured in the table below.

*County Cork includes three sub-regional areas of North Cork, South Cork and West Cork, the allocation indicated will be distributed across the three sub-regional areas.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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619. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total funding provided under the local enhancement programme, by local authority/local authority area, in each of the years 2014 to 2024, and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [40585/25]

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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The Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) was launched in 2018. Now known as the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP), it has distributed funding of almost €66 million since it began in 2018.

The LEP provides funding to assist thousands of community groups across the country by providing mostly capital supports to help with small capital projects and the purchase of equipment. A number of iterations of the programme also provided current funding to provide support towards utility bills, rental/lease costs, insurance costs etc. The LEP is targeted to the specific challenges facing local community groups and delivers immediate, tangible supports where they are needed most.

The LEP is administered locally on behalf of my Department by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) across the country, with support from their local authority. The relevant LCDC is allocated funding each year, they then receive and appraise applications, making determinations on how the funding can best support their communities.

Details of each LCDC’s funding allocations under the CEP/LEP from 2018 – 2025 are available in the tables below. Details of the allocations for LEP 2026 will be announced later in the year.