Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
925. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Islands if funding unspent in an initiative (details supplied) will be reallocated to other measures such as community facilities with LEADER; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24131/20]
View answerLEADER is a multi-annual programme with a budget of €250 million over the period 2014-2020. €225 million of this budget was allocated at the outset of the programme to Local Action Groups (LAGs) who deliver the programme and approve projects at local level. The balance of €25 million is provided for thematic projects and is allocated at national level once the projects have been approved by the LAGs.
The initiative referred to by the Deputy is one of the national thematic schemes funded under the programme. It is an important scheme which can be particularly helpful to companies in the current challenging operating environment. There are no proposals at present to reallocate any of this funding to the LAGs for community type projects.
