Vol. 477 No. 4
105 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will give favourable consideration to the application by Tipperary Leader Groups Limited for additional Leader funds in view of the fact that their catchment area has been enlarged; the volume of proposals such groups have received; the developments in the food sector in the area; the additional staff required for processing applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9437/97]
All approved Leader II groups are now being invited to apply for a share of the additional funding of £18.13 million which is available under the Leader II programme.
Consideration of the applications will include an assessment of the merits of the performance to date of each group in administering the Leader II programme, the quality of the applications, the needs of the groups' area and the availability of other sources of funding.
The additional funding will be confined to economic activity involving job creation and maintenance rather than groups' administration or overhead costs.
I hope to submit proposals to Government for a decision on allocation to individual groups in the near future.
