Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 September 2023
636. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her intentions for the future of the Leader Programme; whether she intends to introduce any modifications to the programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41572/23]
View answerThe LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. It is based on a community-led approach to rural development and supports a broad range of activities which aim to respond to the diversity of the local needs of our rural areas.
The consultative processes that underpinned the development of the new programme identified key themes that provide the framework for the LEADER 2023-2027 programme.
These themes are
• Economic development and job creation
• Rural infrastructure and social inclusion, and
• Sustainable development of the rural environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation
The consultative processes involved were fully open and transparent, and led to the introduction of new modifications in relation to sub regional areas compared to the previous programme. Further modifications have ensured that the needs of our island communities are also fully reflected in the new programme.
The process to select the Local Action Groups (LAGs) to deliver the 2023-2027 LEADER Programme in each area is ongoing at present and the Local Development Strategies which were submitted by the applicant LAGs in July are currently being assessed.
I recently announced the approval of the first two LAGs in counties Carlow and Tipperary to deliver the 2023-2027 LEADER programme. My Department’s focus now is to complete the selection of the remaining LAGs to ensure a timely and smooth transition from the 2014-2020 programme.
LEADER has been operating very successfully in Ireland for over 30 years now, and I am confident that the new LEADER programme will continue to deliver for rural communities all across the country.
