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Departmental Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Questions (768, 769, 791, 798, 824, 840, 857)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

768. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when full approval will be granted by his Department for a project (details supplied) in County Donegal, which has been initially approved for funding by DLDC and has been referred to his Department for approval in December 2012; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the delay in granting final approval for this project has put this project significantly behind schedule for construction; if the project will be approved by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16317/13]

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Pearse Doherty

Question:

769. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total amount of money that has been allocated to projects under the LEADER programme to date; the total amount of money available for allocation under the LEADER programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16318/13]

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Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

791. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when a LEADER project (details supplied) which has been with his Department since the 7 of December 2012 will be approved; the reason for the delay with this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16633/13]

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Tom Fleming

Question:

798. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when an approval will issue in respect of LEADER funding for a development (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16748/13]

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Michael McGrath

Question:

824. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the date on which he intends to release the remaining €120m of the rural development programme project funds for allocation to projects in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17063/13]

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Peadar Tóibín

Question:

840. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason there is a stop on the granting of funds (details supplied); and when this stop on grants will be lifted. [17416/13]

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Jim Daly

Question:

857. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason that all LEADER groups were instructed not to evaluate any more projects until his Department confirmed the budget that was available in the different measures under the rural development programme for the remainder of 2013; if he will advise when confirmation of budgets will be provided by his Department; if his attention has been drawn to the effect that this is having precluding LEADER groups from providing any funding to start-up companies in view of the fact that they have no budget available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17676/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 768, 769, 791, 798, 824, 840 and 857 together.

In late 2011 the European Commission approved a change in the maximum co-funding rate from 55% to 85% for the Axes 3 and 4 elements (LEADER) of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2007-2013. Prior to this the LEADER elements were co-funded at a rate of 55% by the EU, with the remaining 45% coming from national exchequer sources. The 2011 agreement reduced the national exchequer input to 15% on a net basis for 2012 and 2013 without a concomitant increase in the amount of funding to be provided by the EU. This resulted in a reduction in the overall Programme complement from €427m to approximately €314m on the basis of the Programme achieving full spend by the end of 2013.

Axes 3 and 4 of the RDP has already allocated significant resources to rural communities all over Ireland with just over €200 million allocated to date. However, given the levels of spending by the Local Development Companies (LDCs) from 2009 to date, it is very unlikely that full spend will be achieved by the end of 2013, at which time the co-funding rate will revert to 55% for all expenditure beyond that date. As a consequence of this the overall Programme requirement will change. In the context of these changes to the co-funding rate the original project allocations given to each LDC contracted to deliver the LEADER elements of the RDP require readjustment.

An exercise is currently being carried out to determine the level of project commitments across all LDCs and all RDP measures in order to rebalance the programme in as equitable a way as possible. It will not be possible to be definitive regarding the remaining funding available for project commitments until such time as this rebalancing exercise has been satisfactorily completed.

I expect this exercise to be completed shortly and following this my Department will be in contact with all LDC s regarding allocations and any specific projects which are awaiting Departmental approval.

Question No. 770 answered with Question No. 759.
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