Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2021
84. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will ensure that the budget for the Leader Programme 2023 - 2027 is maintained at the levels of the 2016 - 2020 Programme. [60250/21]
View answer97. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the steps she is taking to increase the amount of funding for communities available under the Leader Programme 2023 - 2027. [60252/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 84 and 97 together.
LEADER is a rural development programme co-funded by the EU that operates a locally-led, bottom-up approach to meeting the needs of local communities and businesses. The programme supports private enterprises and community groups in rural areas.
For the period 2014- 2020 LEADER was included in the suite of measures that constituted Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP). The Rural Development Programmes agreed by each Member State with the EU Commission were designed to correspond to specified Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programming periods. The CAP programming periods in turn correspond to the EU's budgetary cycle. The Rural Development Programme will now be replaced by each Member State’s CAP Strategic Plan.
In the 2014-2020 CAP programming period, €250m was allocated to LEADER. For the 7 year programming period from 2021 to 2027 this funding allocation will be maintained. It is comprised of €70m provided for the transitional period from 2021 to 2022, and the recently announced indicative allocation of €180m for the period 2023 to 2027. The maintenance of the €250m funding from the 2014-2020 period is evidence of the Governments continued support for the LEADER programme.
Any discussion of Rural Development investment must also take account of the record levels of investment in recent years. A range of schemes have been implemented in recent years, such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Walks Scheme, and the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme.
Budget 2022 also saw increases secured across all my Department's rural schemes and the National Development Plan outlines a clear commitment to a continuation of investment in Rural Ireland as a matter of priority. Capital funding allocations for my Department have seen an increase from €88m in 2018 to €205m in 2025 under the NDP.
This increased funding will help to deliver on the range of actions for our rural communities into the future as set in the Government’s ambitious Rural Development Policy - Our Rural Futur e.
