Vol. 510 No. 3
187 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the progress, if any, in establishing a successor to Leader; the work and consultation undertaken to date to establish this programme; when a decision will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22602/99]
Leader is the EU Community initiative for rural development. Draft European Commission guidelines on a new LEADER Initiative, termed Leader +, to which the Commission is committed under Agenda 2000, were circulated recently. My Department is participating in discussions on these guidelines and the Commission has indicated that it expects to finalise its new rural development initiative later this year. Until final details are agreed, I am not in a position to indicate the paramaters applicable to the new progamme.
