Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2023
614. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when a decision will be made as to who will deliver the LEADER programme in County Galway; the allocation they will have, broken down between administration and projects; when the LEADER programme will be open to new applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51102/23]
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 supports a broad range of activities which aim to respond to the diversity of the local needs of our rural areas.
The process to select the Local Action Groups (LAGs) to deliver the 2023-2027 LEADER Programme is ongoing at present and the Local Development Strategies which were submitted by the applicant LAGs are currently being assessed.
To date LAGs have been approved in twelve sub-regional areas by the Independent Selection Committee (ISC) established to adjudicate on the strategies submitted by the applicant groups. Strategies in the remaining areas will be considered by the ISC over the coming weeks with a view to completing the selection of the remaining LAGs a by the end of the year. All applicant LAGs will be notified of the outcome of the selection process in their sub-regional area as they are approved. Once a LAG is approved it can commence the delivery of the programme in their area.
The allocation for the Galway sub-regional area for the 2023-2027 LEADER programme is €9,024,924. In line with EU Regulations the LAGs may use up to 25% of their allocation to cover their administration costs and costs associated with engaging with their communities while the remainder of the funding is available to support project activity.
A number of groups have submitted strategies for consideration in the Galway sub-regional area and the applicant LAGs have been made aware of the allocation that will be provided for the delivery of their strategy should their application be approved by the ISC.
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.
