‘The full €250m will be delivered over the lifetime of the programme’

Earlier this year, Dara Calleary, Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on public expenditure and reform, tabled a Dáil question asking Minister Heather Humphreys (pictured) to detail funding and the structures of the current LEADER programme.

The following is the Minister’s reply in full:

“The total amount of funding provided for the LEADER 2014-2020 Programme is €250 million. €220m of this funding has been allocated to the 28 LEADER sub-regional areas in Ireland and will be delivered by the LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) selected in each respective area. The remaining €30m in LEADER funding will be managed at a national level for targeted initiatives.

The LEADER 2014-2020 sub-regional areas are, in the main, aligned with the county boundaries, with County Cork divided into three sub-regional areas.

The allocation to each area is provided for the full duration of the programme, rather than on an annual basis. Hence, any variation in expenditure compared to the allocation will not be fully apparent until the end of the programme.

(The table above) details the allocations for each county for the full duration of the programme, along with the expenditure incurred to date in each county.

This expenditure com- menced in 2015 and relates to support payments for the preparation of Local Development Strategies in each area and to the administration and animation costs incurred by the LAGs in the start-up phase of the programme. No project expenditure has yet been incurred under the LEADER 2014-2020 programme. However, the LAGs are currently concluding calls for proposals and are working with potential applicants to develop and finalise project applications in each LEADER sub-regional area. I anticipate a significant increase in project approvals and payments over the coming months and I am confident that the full €250m allocation for the LEADER 2014-2020 Programme will be delivered over the lifetime of the programme. In addition to the supports provided under the 2014-2020 Programme, LEADER funding was provided since 2014 to finalise projects under the earlier 2007-2013 LEADER Programme and to provide transitional funding to LAGs for the period between the closure of the 2007-2013 Programme and the commencement of the 2014-2020 Programme. The allocations and payments under the 2007-2013 LEADER programme were not divided on a county basis, but were based on the area covered by each LAG.”