Written Answers. - Leader Programmes.
Máirín Quill
Question:
20
Miss Quill
asked the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
the amount of money which has been paid to promoters of Leader 1 projects; the amount of the total funds available not drawn down; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2797/94]
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:
45
Mr. Deenihan
asked the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
if he will allocate extra funds for the Leader II programme to ensure that proposals put forward by rural communities can proceed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2803/94]
Liz McManus
Question:
49
Ms McManus
asked the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
when the consultants report on the progress made under Leader I and Leader II will be published; the money allocated under Leader II; when the decision will be made with regard to the locations for Leader II; if County Wicklow will receive favourable consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2763/94]
Helen Keogh
Question:
66
Ms Keogh
asked the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
the groups which have been selected to participate in Leader II; and the commencement date for the new programme.
[2793/94]
Helen Keogh
Question:
83
Ms Keogh
asked the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
the contribution, if any, the Irish Government has made to the Leader II programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2794/94]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 45, 49, 66 and 83 together.
As the Leader 1 programme continues to the end of the year, it is not possible to give the exact amount that will be paid to promoters of projects. On the basis of information supplied by the groups. Who say that all the available money which has been committed to projects will be drawn down, in the region of £30.5 million is likely to be paid. A feature of all grant aid schemes is that some promoters of projects are unable to draw down the moneys committed to them for a variety of reasons such as failure to proceed with the project or the ineligibility of some of the expenditure involved.
The report of the evaluation of Leader 1 by independent consultants was published some months ago. The report indicated that the programme had attained a considerable degree of success in terms of the achievement of its objectives, the enormous commitment of board members, support structures and local communities, the dedication and enthusiasm of its management, the positive and constructive relationship between groups and my Department, and the support and participation of the State agencies an local authorities.
Among its findings were: While Leader is a relatively small measure, in terms of total public expenditure related directly or indirectly to rural development, it afforded the first opportunity for most Groups to examine the potential of their own areas, to co-operate their efforts and co-ordinate their activities in devising and implementing an innovative local development strategy for the betterment of their communities.
Availability of matching funds did not feature as a significant problem for Group projects, with the exception of the training measure.
In total, Groups had committed funds to over 2,350 projects (the outturn could well be close to 2,800 projects).
In terms of Leader measures, the average Group had allocated about 44 per cent of its total projects to the Rural Tourism measure; 18 per cent and 15 per cent to the Small Enterprise and Natural Resource measures respectively. In terms of Leader expenditure, the corresponding allocations are 51 per cent, 20 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
In terms of the gender of promoters, the average Group had about twice as many male as female promoters.
The average Leader grant is about IR£13,400 for all Groups and the range across Groups is from IR£5,000 to about IR£27,000.
Claimed actual employment (Full-Time Equivalents) attributable to Leader is 1,445. The proportion of total persons employed part-time and seasonally by the average Group is about 60 per cent and the proportion of females employed is reported at just under 40 per cent. Some of the Groups claim employment levels which appear excessive relative to the public expenditure outlay and a significant downward adjustment on the previously cited aggregate is warranted.
Promoters were generally very positive in their attitude towards Leader especially as regards the local area-based nature if the Initiative and the perceived "approachability" of the Boards and management.
The diversity of Leader areas in terms of size, resource endowment, degree of overlap across county boundaries, and prior experience of the "bottom-up" approach to local development, has provided an opportunity to consider the most appropriate structures that allow for diversity.
The recommendations of the report including those relating to the administration of the programme by my Department and the establishment of a representative central Leader partnership board, are being considered in the context of our preparations for Leader II.
As regards Leader II, the position is that an initial £37 million was allocated by the European Commission to implement the programme here. I am now pleased to say that the Commission is making available an additional £17 million for the programme bringing the total EU contribution for Leader II in Ireland to £54 million. The EU moneys will, of course, be supplemented by an Exchequer contribution still to be decided.
Additionally, a total of £1.1 billion has been retained by the Commission as a reserve during the period to 1999. Ireland can expect its share of this reserve in the years ahead.
As I have already indicated in my reply to a number of written questions during October, a total of 48 business plans have been received from applicant groups for Leader II. I will be having these evaluated over the coming months with the help of independent consultants, in parallel with the negotiations with the European Commission on our Operational Programme which was submitted to Brussels last week, with a view to ensuring the earliest selection of the successful groups. In view of the fairly lengthy procedures involved, an announcement about the successful groups cannot be expected until early in 1995. All the proposals will be considered on their merits and it would be inappropriate for me to give a commitment to any particular Leader group at this stage.
