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LEADER Programmes

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020

Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Questions (1583, 1584, 1587)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

1583. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will address a matter in relation to Leader funding (details supplied); if she will provide clarity on Leader allocations for 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32995/20]

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Dara Calleary

Question:

1584. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funds she secured in Budget 2021 for projects, delivery and administration of a Leader programme in 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33014/20]

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John McGuinness

Question:

1587. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if funding has been allocated for new Leader projects in 2021; if so, the amount allocated; if separate funding has been allocated for the delivery and administration of the Leader programme 2021; if the National Rural Development Plan for the period 2021 to 2023 which is identified as a priority in the programme for Government will be launched shortly; if there is a time frame for the completion of the plan and for the launch; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33039/20]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1583, 1584 and 1587 together.

LEADER forms part of Ireland’s national Rural Development Programme and is co-funded by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The current 2014-2020 LEADER programming period concludes in December 2020.

Proposals for new regulations for the CAP 2021-2027 were launched in June 2018 by the European Commission. However, given the protracted nature of discussions on the post-2020 CAP and the wider EU Budget at EU level, there has been a delay in adopting these proposals. This means that the next LEADER programme will not commence until January 2022 at the earliest.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to prioritise a State-led programme to bridge the gap between the current LEADER programme and the next EU programme. The objective of this commitment is to allow local-led rural development projects to be delivered under a Transitional Programme until the new EU programme commences.

The European Commission has published proposals for transitional measures to allow for continuity between the programming periods. The Commission's proposals are still under discussion at EU level and there are a number of issues yet to be resolved, including the duration of the transitional period.

Nonetheless, I hope to be in a position shortly to announce the details of a Transitional LEADER Programme for Ireland, to come into effect in 2021.

An extra €4 million has been provided for LEADER in Budget 2021, to bring the total allocation for next year to €44 million. I can confirm that the allocation will be used to fund a combination of existing projects as they come to completion, as well as for new projects to be approved under the Transitional Programme and to support the administration costs of Local Action Groups in closing out the existing programme and delivering the Transitional Programme.

It is important to recognise that LEADER is a multi-annual programme and that payments in respect of projects which are approved in any given year are generally not drawn down until subsequent years, depending on the nature and scale of the projects concerned. In this context, costs related to projects under the Transitional Programme are also likely to be met from the provision in my Department’s Vote in 2022 and 2023.

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