Seán Sherlock
Question:75. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the engagement she has had with counterparts in Government and in Europe on LEADER funding. [8700/22]
View answerThursday, 17 February 2022
Questions (75)
Written answers
The LEADER programme is a key intervention implemented by my Department which will help to underpin the Government's rural development goals as outlined in Our Rural Future.
The programme is co-funded by the EU under Pillar II the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is Ireland's Managing Authority for the CAP and thus has lead responsibility for negotiations of the new CAP which is to be introduced from 2023. My officials has engaged extensively with both the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the EU Commission on the design of a new LEADER programme to form part of the new CAP Strategic Plan. 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.
My officials will continue to work closely with colleagues from the DAFM and the EU Commission over the coming months with a view to obtaining approval for the CAP Strategic Plan as a priority.