WEXFORD LANDS ALMOST €10M IN LEADER FUNDING
WEXFORD has been buoyed by the announcement of almost €10 million in LEADER funding for rural enterprises and community groups across the county.
The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys last week issued the first funding agreements for the delivery of the LEADER 2020 programme in 18 counties, with Wexford allocated €9.84 million.
Reacting to the news, Minister Paul Kehoe said LEADER funding was very important for rural Ireland and is a key to its development over the next four years.
‘In total it will provide funding of €250 million to enterprises and community groups throughout rural Ireland. As our economy recovers it is essential that the Government puts in place measures to revitalise rural Ireland, so that the benefits are felt in every community in County Wexford and across the country,’ he said
‘ The LEADER funding will be provided to projects that are selected by local action groups, made up of local representatives from both the public and private sector. The money will fund projects across a range of areas, such as enterprise development, rural tourism, enhancement of rural towns and the provision of basic services for hard to reach communities.
‘ This funding puts rural development back in the hands of local communities in County Wexford and empowers them to address their own development needs,’ he said.
The announcement of the funding coincides with the publication of a document listing the benefits LEADER brought to Wexford under the 2009-2015 programme.
In a joint submission by Wexford Local Development in the publication, chairman Michael Wall and chief executive Brian Kehoe say WLD supported 396 individual projects and paid out more than €9.2 million in grant aid over that period.
‘ This grant aid was distributed to community groups and small businesses in all parts of County Wexford and led to job creation and a huge increase in community activities and facilities.
‘ The projects that were grant aided cover a wide range of economic, cultural, environmental and social activities and have helped create and sustain vibrant communities.’
A breakdown of enterprise projects, shows that €800,000 was spent in Wexford, €1.3 million in Enniscorthy, €1.1 million in Gorey and €1 million in New Ross.
LEADER is funded by the government and the European Commission and is a rural development programme which aims to develop a sustainable rural Ireland by supporting active rural communities and investing in innovative rural business.
WLD and the Wexford Organisation of Rural Development have managed the programme since 1991 and 2006 invested more than €25 million in 1070 projects.
Companies supported by LEADER range from craft centres to microbreweries, cloud-based, state of the art business to a range of tourism facilities, kite surfing, fishing lake developments and community centres.