Vol. 507 No. 4
93 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if rural Dublin will form part of any new Leader programme in view of the phenomenal success of the Rural Dublin Leader Company which has assisted 135 projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17019/99]
Leader is the EU Community Initiative for Rural Development. The initial proposals of the European Commission on a new initiative, to which the Commission is committed under Agenda 2000, were circulated for discussion in March 1999. The Commission has indicated that it will finalise the new rural development community initiative later in the year. Until the details of the new programme are available, I am not in a position to comment on how the programme will operate and which groups might be approved for funding.
