More bureaucracy and less money in Leader

THERE’S less money and more bureaucracy in the current Leader rural development programme, which runs up to 2020; but the administrators of the fund hope they will be able to persuade the government to top up the funding if there is a strong demand for assistance from local community groups.

A meeting hosted by North East & West Kerry Development (NEWKD) in the Skellig Hotel last Wednesday heard that the current Leader programme has a budget of €3.6 million, which is co-funded by the Irish Government and the EU. This funding, which is administered by NEWKD, is available for suitable projects throughout the entire north, east and west Kerry area.

The previous Leader Programme, which ran from 2005 - 2010 had a budget of €10 million, of which €8.6 million was available as grant aid to community projects after administration costs were taken out. Unlike the current Leader Programme, this €8.6 million was for projects in north and east Kerry alone while the now defunct Meitheal Forbatha na Gaeltachta had a further budget of €1.7 million exclusively for West Kerry projects.

The dramatic drop in Leader funding, which comes about because of an EU decision, has been matched by an increase in the bureaucracy surrounding applications for grant aid.

Applicants must now submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by the end of October. This will be reviewed by the Kerry Local Action Group and those who are deemed eligible will be invited to submit a funding application by January next. These applications will then go through a further vetting and checking process which should be complete by next March.

NEWKD representatives at the meeting in the Skellig admitted that “the process is much more complicated than it was before” but NEWKD’s John Loughrey, who covers the Tralee/Dingle area, is happy to help and advise. He can be contacted at 066 7180190.