Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 December 2022
730. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the total funding allocated to the LEADER programme over the 2021-2027 period inclusive of transitional funding in 2021-2022; and the percentage change in funding overall between the 2021-2027 period and the previous programme period 2014-2020 since the formation of this Government by county in tabular form. [60261/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraLEADER is a key programme within Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development launched last year, which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy.
The Expression of Interest stage to select the Groups to deliver the next LEADER programme is now open with a closing date for receipt of applications of 16th December 2022.
€250m has been made available for LEADER for the period 2021 to 2027. This is comprised of €70 million for the transitional period 2021 to 2022 and an additional €180 million from 2023 to 2027. The allocation of the funding for each LEADER area for the 2023 to 2027 period was also recently announced.
The 2014-2020 LEADER programme had a total allocation of €250 million. €220 million of this budget was allocated directly to the LAGs who deliver the programme and approve projects at local level.
The balance of €30 million was provided for thematic projects, such as the LEADER Food Initiative, which were approved at national level.
Table 1 below shows the distribution of funding by county for both the 2014-2020 Programme and the 2021-2027 programme and the percentage variation. Allocations are made for the programming period as a whole, rather than on a year by year basis.
Table 1 – LEADER funding by county 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 Programming periods
|
County |
LEADER 2014-2020 funding |
LEADER 2021-2027 funding* |
Gain € on previous programme |
% Gain |
|
Carlow |
€6,416,803 |
€6,864,589 |
€447,786 |
6.98% |
|
Cavan |
€8,522,286 |
€8,888,387 |
€366,101 |
4.30% |
|
Clare |
€8,920,225 |
€9,480,333 |
€560,108 |
6.28% |
|
Cork** |
€13,938,823 |
€20,908,235 |
€6,969,412 |
50.00% |
|
Donegal |
€12,913,878 |
€14,210,724 |
€1,296,846 |
10.04% |
|
Dublin |
€6,370,438 |
€6,598,917 |
€228,479 |
3.59% |
|
Galway |
€12,195,884 |
€12,628,253 |
€432,369 |
3.55% |
|
Kerry |
€10,219,868 |
€11,205,430 |
€985,562 |
9.64% |
|
Kildare |
€5,261,600 |
€6,995,034 |
€1,733,434 |
32.94% |
|
Kilkenny |
€7,791,573 |
€8,382,926 |
€591,353 |
7.59% |
|
Laois |
€7,124,587 |
€7,765,897 |
€641,310 |
9.00% |
|
Leitrim |
€5,998,475 |
€8,063,960 |
€2,065,485 |
34.43% |
|
Limerick |
€9,276,594 |
€9,678,646 |
€402,052 |
4.33% |
|
Longford |
€7,597,623 |
€8,068,240 |
€470,617 |
6.19% |
|
Louth |
€6,101,862 |
€6,715,859 |
€613,997 |
10.06% |
|
Mayo |
€11,121,432 |
€12,074,044 |
€952,612 |
8.57% |
|
Meath |
€6,903,124 |
€7,499,555 |
€596,431 |
8.64% |
|
Monaghan |
€7,592,720 |
€8,229,081 |
€636,361 |
8.38% |
|
Offaly |
€8,036,764 |
€8,627,171 |
€590,407 |
7.35% |
|
Roscommon |
€8,852,659 |
€9,398,383 |
€545,724 |
6.16% |
|
Sligo |
€7,655,648 |
€8,316,205 |
€660,557 |
8.63% |
|
Tipperary |
€10,103,443 |
€10,811,323 |
€707,880 |
7.01% |
|
Waterford |
€7,522,796 |
€8,315,055 |
€792,259 |
10.53% |
|
Westmeath |
€7,384,206 |
€7,917,745 |
€533,539 |
7.23% |
|
Wexford |
€9,840,141 |
€10,190,058 |
€349,917 |
3.56% |
|
Wicklow |
€6,336,549 |
€7,165,951 |
€829,402 |
13.09% |
|
Totals |
€220,000,000 |
€245,000,000 |
|
|
*Total available for 2021-2027 is €250m, €5m retained under the Transitional Programme for Cooperation Measure(€3m) and 2023-2027 Strategy Development(€2m)
** County Cork includes three sub-regional areas of North Cork, South Cork and West Cork, the allocation indicated will be distributed across the three sub-regional areas.
