Marian Harkin
Question:15. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if the new 2023-2027 LEADER programme will be ready for activation at the start of 2023. [8716/22]
View answerThursday, 17 February 2022
Questions (15)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
Can the Minister confirm that the new 2023-2027 LEADER programme will be ready for activation at the start of 2023?
I thank the Deputy for the question. The LEADER programme is one of the key intervention of our rural future, the Government's policy for rural development launched last year. An indicative budget of €180 million is allocated for the LEADER programme for the period 2023-2027, with €70 million already provided for 2021 and 2022 under the transitional LEADER programme. A total of €250 million will be made available for the 2021-2027 period, thus maintaining the level of funding provided for the 2014-2020 programme period.
The draft CAP strategic plan, which includes LEADER, was submitted to the EU Commission by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at the end of December 2021. This is in line with the timeline set by the European Commission. The process of negotiating and agreeing the plan with the European Commission has commenced. The timeline for implementation of the new LEADER programme is closely linked to this process. Accordingly, my officials will continue to work closely with colleagues from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Commission over the coming months with a view to obtaining approval for the CAP strategic plan as a matter of priority. In parallel with this process, my officials are continuing to engage with key stakeholders regarding the new LEADER programme and the ongoing implementation of the transitional LEADER programme to ensure that the vital role that LEADER plays in rural Ireland continues to be supported.
The Minister clearly said that the timeline for implementation is closely linked to the negotiation of the CAP strategic plan. In that context, we know that it is not unusual for programmes to be delayed. If, for example, we are not ready to go by 1 January 2023, the Minister and I know some companies would struggle to keep going financially. The transition programme is in place to 1 January, but some companies are tight enough, especially when it comes to administrative funding and would have real difficulty going beyond 1 January next year.
The Minister knows if that were to happen jobs and the continuity of some of programmes would be at risk. Is there any plan, stopgap or mechanism in place to ensure that if we are not ready to go by 1 January next year that those companies will not find themselves running out of money?
I thank the Deputy. In fairness, she probably knows this process much better than I do when it comes to Europe. The funding allocation for 2021-2027 has been maintained at the current level.
It is important to me that LEADER continues to support rural communities as it moves into the new programming period. That is why it was vital for Ireland to submit its CAP strategic plan to the EU on time. Not every member state met that deadline. An intensive process of negotiations with the EU will follow the initial review of all the schemes in the new CAP strategic plan. My officials are engaging in this process as a matter of priority to ensure the new LEADER programme is in place as soon as possible. Next January is some time away yet but I am aware of the good work that LEADER is doing. I was quick to commit to the transitional funding of €70 million, because we did not want it to stop. I am committed to supporting it.
I agree that the Minister and her officials are actively engaged in the negotiation of the CAP strategic plan and want things to start next January. We also know that we need to plan for the future. There have been previous occasions where we have not been ready to go and it may happen again, when everything is not in place. Some companies just will not have administrative funding. Jobs and the continuity of programmes will be at risk.
We are running over time, so I will not keep going. I will give the Minister the last few seconds to respond. This is a concern.
It was the same story in 2016. The programme did not run out of money then. We have always supported it. I am conscious of the work that it does. I do not want to second guess the negotiations in the EU. We hope that it will move on quickly. The transition programme was brought in and the funding was provided so that it could continue its good work.