Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 20 Sep 1995

Vol. 455 No. 8

Adjournment Debate. - Leader II Programme.

Mr. Cowen

I wish to highlight transparent incompetence in relation to the Leader II programme arising from the matter raised by Deputy Ryan concerning urban renewal. On 31 December 1994 the Leader I pilot programme ended and the Leader II programme, which was to be a national programme, was to begin. With the energetic new arrivals in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry one would have expected the Leader II programme to come on stream fairly quickly, particularly since my constituency colleague, Deputy Hyland, had been so instrumental and successful in adopting a bottom up rural development approach in Leader I. That was acclaimed by everybody in the areas concerned and highlighted the need for Leader II to begin immediately.

I awaited with great trepidation this major announcement which finally came in May, four months later, that 36 areas were to be part of the new Leader II programme. The Minister of State will recall that I was upset about the delay in getting this programme under way. That was in May last and another four months has now passed.

During the week a press release was issued from the Minister of State's office to the effect that the first of these 36 groups had finally signed a contract. This contract with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, is the required legal instrument that allows the Leader programme to begin.

It is now nine months since this Government of all the talents came into office. We were told the Minister and his team were very busy in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. We had the most successful pilot programme for rural development under way but we have yet to see, apart from this one contract out of 36 groups, the continuation of the excellent work done under that programme.

We also know — this has been confirmed by the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan at Question Time — that the money that will be available to the individual groups will be less than that provided under the pilot programme. A sum of £75 million for the programme is to be spread thinly over many areas. Leader boards are in place and meetings are taking place. I have met Leader boards formally and informally and I am sure the Minister has made it his business to meet many of them.

Unfortunately the Comptroller and Auditor General's office, on foot of his report, has been used by various Departments to take away the local discretionary powers which were available under Leader I. There is such a range of bureaucracy that in some cases junior and senior counsel have been sought by Leader boards to ascertain what exactly the Department is asking of them in order to get down to the basic business of producing rural development programmes. I have a great personal regard for the Minister of State but the urgency for this issue in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry under his predecessor is not there.

We are two-thirds into the year 1995 and are supposed to have a national programme in place, yet only one contract has been signed by the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan. I understand the signing of contracts by many boards is imminent. The Leader network has been involved in negotiations with the Department and has attempted to outline the difficulties due to the increased bureaucracy arising out of the new criteria. This overhang of central bureaucracy is responsible for the failure to entrust to prudent members of each of these boards the responsibility to spend taxpayers' money wisely. The reason given was that two or three projects from the previous pilot programme of 19 were not as successful as one would have wished. I assure the Minister of State and the Department that Leader boards, under Leader I, have a much better record than many central Departments where there has been waste for many years. Frequently this is brought to the fore by diligent members of the Committee of Public Accounts and various other committees of the House.

I understand many Leader boards have revised and submitted their business plans to the Department, having had further discussions and checked out all the legal issues in order to satisfy officialdom. The Minister of State, I am sure, would like to go around as Ministers are doing in other areas, to areas where work is proceeding in order to be associated with the good work being done by Leader boards under Leader I and Leader II.

Will the Minister of State in dealing with the logjam eight months later, go back to his Department and inform officialdom that he is the political head of the Department with responsibility for rural development and is not prepared to accept any further delay? These contracts should be signed within the next week or ten days so that the national Leader II programme, which has been heralded by the Minister of State and the Minister for the past eight months, will be in operation in October 1995.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. Deenihan)

When I took office in December 1994 Leader II had not been sanctioned by the EU and it was not accepted as a national programme. I had to go to Europe to fight a strong battle to ensure that all parts of the country would be included in Leader II.

Mr. Cowen

Did the Minister of State have Brendan Kearney's report under his arm?

Mr. Deenihan

I had a number of reports under my arm.

Mr. Cowen

What did it say about Leader I?

Mr. Deenihan

I wish to counter some of Deputy Cowen's inaccuracies. Deputy Cowen said I stated in the Dáil that I was upset about the lack of progress. I did not say that, but that I was anxious to ensure that Leader II would be put in place as soon as possible and happily, it was. One of his colleagues defended officials in semi-State companies. The officials in the Department dealing with the Leader programmes are some of the finest civil servants I have ever met.

Mr. Cowen

Hear, hear. I did not accuse them of corruption like your absent colleague.

Mr. Deenihan

I have absolute confidence that they can do a very good job. They are doing a very good job.

Mr. Cowen

Distinguish before you go any further.

Mr. Deenihan

We are trying to ensure the integrity and credibility of the Leader II programme and I am sure that by the end of it, it will be very good and an instrument for future rural development in the EU. We must ensure that we get it right before it starts. Leader I was a pilot programme. We have to accept that mistakes were made but we do not wish to repeat them. The Government is committed to the Leader programme and there has not been nor will there be any undue delay in implementing the programme.

We have approached the implementation of Leader II in a carefully planned manner to ensure that the programme makes the maximum contribution possible to the development of rural areas. The preparatory work is an essential element in ensuring that groups approach the implementation of their plans in a strategic, focused way and as a result, we can look forward to a more effective and efficient programme.

This week, I signed the first agreement for the implementation of a local plan with one of the approved Leader II groups. I will sign another agreement next Friday and a further one in the coming week. We are at a very advanced stage in processing material submitted by several groups and I expect many more agreements will be signed during October. The procedure we have followed since Leader II was first published by the European Commission on 1 July 1994 is that my Department immediately published the new programme by way of circulating a detailed comprehensive note for the information and guidance of potential applicant groups. A number of public briefing sessions were held during July and August 1994 and my Department also advised applicant groups on an individual basis on the requirements of Leader II.

Applicant groups were allowed three months up to the end of September 1994 to prepare and submit their business plan applications. Given the work involved this was the minimum period groups would expect.

Based on the requirements of the European Commission my Department was obliged to submit to the Commission by end of October 1994 an operational programme for the implementation of Leader in Ireland based on the business plan application received. This deadline was met.

The operational programme was approved by the European Commission as part of the first tranche of Leader II approvals on 29 March 1995. I met Commissioner Fischler and senior officials of the Commission in February this year to expedite approval of the operational programme. My Department had in the meantime carried out an assessment of the business plan applications so that once the operational programme had been approved, the Government was able to make an early decision on the selection of the approved groups. That decision was taken on 2 May 1995 and the groups were informed immediately of their selection.

In early June my Department issued the detailed rules for the implementation of the new programme. These were based on the terms of the programme as published by the European Commission, the findings and recommendations of the independent evaluation of Leader I, the Comptroller and Auditor General's value for money report and our experience of implementing Leader I. Following a consultative process with the approval groups the definitive operating rules, which incorporated a number of changes suggested to us, issued on 21 July 1995. The purpose of the rules was to set out clearly and comprehensively for the groups the terms and conditions under which they will be required to operate to enable them to plan their affairs. The rules are designated also to ensure a high standard of accountability and transparency in the administration of the programme.

By the end of July, therefore, the framework for the implementation of the programme had been settled and I am satisfied that no time was lost at any stage of the preparations.

In informing groups of their selection in early May, my Department set out a number of requirements with which they must comply before proceeding to sign agreements for the implementation of the programme.

They were required to submit a detailed statement on how precisely they intended to co-ordinate their activities with other official bodies and programmes. This requirement was essential to avoid duplication of effort. We also sought a statement of objectives from each group to be accompanied by a fairly detailed indication of output targets and a financial plan. As well as providing a basis for subsequent evaluation this data will ensure that the groups engage in strategic planning to identify the activities they wish to participate in so as to best contribute to the local development process. These requirements are essential in ensuring proper planning and a structured approach to implementing the local plans. It is by determining their role in relation to other programmes, clearly identifying the opportunities for development and targeting their activities in a deliberate way that groups can best serve the interests of their areas.

Leader II is a five year programme and groups are acting in a mature and responsible way by undertaking careful preparation rather than rushing ahead in an unfocused manner. In addition to the planning process, many groups are concentrating on recruiting staff and the process of legal incorporation before seeking to sign the agreement with my Department. My Department is dealing with the responses of the groups as a matter of priority and I am determined to sign agreements with them as quickly as possible.

Leader is a vitally important programme for rural development.

Mr. Cowen

Hear, hear.

Mr. Deenihan

Leader I was successful in harnessing the energy and enthusiasm of rural communities who clearly demonstrated that given the opportunity they were willing and able to contribute in a major way to their development. I have met most of the approved groups and have been impressed by their commitment and determination to get on with the job. I assure the House that my Department and I will do everything possible to ensure the smooth operation of the programme.