Trevor Sargent
Question:107 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the number of women members there are on all groups who receive LEADER funding; and the groups of which they are members.
Written Answers. - Leader Funding.
Trevor Sargent
Question:108 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the number of people under the age of 25 who are members of Leader groups; and the groups of which they are members.
Trevor Sargent
Question:109 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will give a further breakdown of the groups receiving Leader funds, that is, the smaller groups which make up the 16 main Irish Leader groups; and the amounts received by each group.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 107, 108 and 109 together.
As there is no requirement for the specific involvement of young people or women in the approved Leader groups or in other groups in receipt of funding under Leader, the information requested by the Deputy in this regard is not available to my Department.
Leader groups are separate legal entities and, while they are generally representative of the interests in their communities, they are not composed of smaller local groupings as suggested by the Deputy. The Leader groups act under delegated authority in implementing their own business plans and accept applications for assistance for projects, across a broad range of sectors, from a very large number of local development associations, community groups, small businesses and individuals. Each application is assessed on its merits by the LEADER group concerned.