My recent announcement in respect of the Rural Development Programme Ireland 2007 — 2013 represents the outcome of the process for selecting Local Action Groups and the allocation of funding to Local Action Groups to deliver the LEADER elements of the Programme.
Under the Programme funding of €425m will be provided towards LEADER activities for the programming period. This is the largest ever package for such rural development in Ireland and is almost treble the level of funding available under the previous LEADER Programmes.
I am delighted to be able to announce this package of funding, particularly in light of the economic challenges currently facing the country. This considerable investment in rural Ireland is expected to result in the creation of more than 12,000 full time jobs and support for 10,000 new and existing micro-enterprises.
In this context, and on the basis of complementary investment from the CLÁR Programme and the Rural Social Scheme, I believe we will see significant and sustained benefits across rural Ireland over the coming years.