Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
817. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the progress that has been made to ensure that the commitment in the programme for Government that the new LEADER programme will be led by independent local action groups will be honoured; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28769/20]
View answerThe Programme for Government contains a number of commitments in relation to the LEADER Programme, including a commitment to promote the role of independent Local Action Groups (LAGs), while ensuring that strong accountability and transparency mechanisms are in place to protect taxpayers’ money.
Over the coming months, my officials will be working through the details of all of the commitments in the Programme for Government in relation to LEADER. The first objective, as set out in the Programme for Government, is to prioritise a new State-led LEADER programme to bridge the gap between the current EU programme which finishes at the end of this year, and the commencement of a new EU-funded programme. The commencement of the new EU programme has been impacted by the delay in finalising the EU budget for the period 2021-2027.
Decisions on the delivery of the new LEADER programme will be have regard, inter alia, to the provisions of the EU Regulations governing the structure of future Local Action Groups and the outcome of consultations with all relevant stakeholder groups.
