Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2016
410. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when he will finalise the local development strategy for County Longford in order that Leader 2020 funding can be provided to many deserving projects in the county; and if he will expedite this process. [19780/16]
View answerI am pleased to note that I will launch the LEADER programme later this week. My Department has issued funding agreements to local action groups in 21 of the 28 sub-regional areas designated under the LEADER programme, and I expect that most, if not all, of these local action groups will be in a position to finalise their respective agreements at this event.
The delivery of LEADER will commence immediately in these areas and the local action groups can begin receiving applications starting from Monday morning. I am also confident that Funding Agreements will issue in the remaining 7 LEADER sub-regional areas, which includes Longford, in the coming weeks as the local action groups provide the additional information and clarifications requested by the Independent Selection Committee established to review and select the strategies submitted in each area. Indeed, the Independent Selection Committee is meeting today to review progress and will meet again in early August to facilitate the finalisation of strategies.
