Allocations have been made to the Tuaithe Ciarraí group which covers the areas around Scartaglin. Cordal and other areas in the south Kerry constituency, Meitheal Forbairt na Gaeltachta which includes the area from Camp to Slea Head and Ballinskelligs and the Duhallow Leader group which includes the areas around Rathmore and Gneevegulla. When these allocations are taken into consideration the allocation per head will be increased considerably.
Leader is the EU initiative for rural development and it provides an opportunity for rural communities to involve themselves directly in their own development. Leader I ended in December 1994 and the Government recently selected the groups to implement Leader II. The group selected to operate the programme in south Kerry has been approved for funding of £1.761 million. This figure was based on an independent assessment by consultants and on recommendation made by the officials in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. It was not tampered with by a political person. I relied totally on the advice of the consultants and the experience of the officials to make the decison. I will not take any credit for allocations with which people are pleased and neither will I take the blame for allocations with which they are not pleased.
Leader is designed to complement other programmes and measures which are being funded by the EU under the Community Support Framework 1994-1999. The programme is not intended as a response to all of the problems or potential for development in rural areas and the allocation of funds to the programme and to individual groups must be seen in that context.
Virtually every operational programme under the Community Support Framework has an impact in rural areas, including south Kerry. All of the State agencies and mainline programmes of grant aid such as the supports for industry, tourism and the provision of infrastructures apply throughout the country. In this context, I would mention two measures in particular which are co-financed by the EU under the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development and which will have an impact in south Kerry and other areas. These are the county enterprise board and the area based partnership company which are established to support integrated social and economic development with particular reference to the disadvantaged. The approved Leader group in south Kerry is also the structure for delivering the area board partnership approach in the area. Both of these programmes will provide significant funding for local development.
Such is the range of measures and sources of funding available in most areas that we are very concerned to encourage co-operation between Leader groups and official agencies so as to ensure a co-ordinated approach to local development. It is a formal requirment on Leader II groups, therefore, that they demonstrate a close and harmonious working relationship with all other agencies in their area in order to avoid overlap and duplication of effort.
The unique feature of Leader compared with other programmes is of course the bottom-up concept of engaging communities directly in the local development process. Given our background of community, voluntary and cooperative involvement this is a feature of Leader I which was particularly successful. The independent evaluation of Leader I found that one of the most valuable aspects of the programme was the enormous commitment of the board members, support structures and local communities.
The independent evaluation also found that the activities of Leader groups in stimulating and facilitating development through animation and capacity building was an essential feature of Leader I which distinguished it from other programmes. We are emphasising this activitity under Leader II and it is not acceptable that groups operate as purely grant giving agents. Under Leader II there is a formal requirement on groups to engage in animation and capacity building in order to assist the local communities to help identify potential for development, to establish suitable community structures to work towards local objectives and to advise, guide and otherwise assist, including where appropriate offer financial assistance in achieving local aspirations; and advise, guide, support and facilitate individuals or small enterprises with worthwhile ideas for development.
In many cases, the role of the group will be to support and facilitate the community or individual project promoter to the point where the project reaches the development stage. I have already indicated that sources of funding are available to support a broad range of development projects and it is not necessary to provide the Leader group with funding for each and every project idea. A comment I frequently hear is that there are considerable resources available to support projects but that in many rural areas a more basic problem is the lack of sufficient human capital at community and individual level to generate ideas and identify and encourage entrepreneurs with potential to create employment and additional incomes. We are encouraging Leader groups to fulfil that role.
Total funding for Leader II is £77 million — £54 million from the EU and £23 million in national funding. This is a substantial increase on the Leader I funding of £35 million. Given the benefits that can accrue to communities and the willingness of communities to participate in the programme, the Government was determined that Leader II would apply to all rural areas and this will be the case.
The allocation under Leader II for the group approved in south Kerry is £1.76 million. While this represents a reduction from the group's Leader I allocation, I am satisfied that it is substantial funding given the size and population of the area and the background of other sources of funding that I have outlined. In view of the south Kerry group's experience of Leader I and the expertise it has accumulated, I am confident that the funding available will enable it to make a very useful and worthwhile contribution to local development in the area over the next four to five years.
The Dáil adjourned at 4.45 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 13 June 1995.
