Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
949. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has received an application for grant approval from Louth Leader Partnership in respect of an organisation (details supplied); the date on which the application was received; when a decision will be made on the application; and the average processing time for such applications. [38303/13]
View answerIn the context of the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme (RDP), projects that request funding of €150,000 or more require final approval from my Department after Local Development Company (LDC) Board approval. The assessment of these higher value projects usually involves detailed consultations between my Department and the relevant LDC. There has been a significant increase in the number of these types of projects over the last 12 to 18 months. I acknowledge that the processing of the se projects can take some time, including for reasons related to the submission of projects with insufficient documentation or with documentation that requires some level of clarification. Each project is dealt with separately and the time required for approval varies, depending on the range and types of issues that need to be addressed.
In the context of the project referred to in the question, the request for approval was received on 26 June 2013 and a number of queries were submitted to the Local Development Company, Louth LEADER Partnership, during August. The group replied in August also and I envisage that a decision on this project should be available shortly.
