Councillor calls on government to protect LEADER at EU level
A county councillor has called on the government to protect funding at EU level for the LEADER rural programme.
Cillian Keane called on the government to make "strong representation" at EU level to secure funding for LEADER, citing concerns that the programme would not be funded through the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2028 to 2034.
Instead, LEADER may be funded through proposed non-ringfenced National and Regional Partnership Plans, meaning the programme may have to compete for money with other funding priorities.
Keane said that any move that weakens LEADER "would be a major blow" to rural communities.
The Fianna Fáil councillor, who has announced his candidacy for the Dáil by-election for Galway West - caused by the election of Catherine Connolly as president - said that LEADER has "delivered hugely important projects" in his constituency, adding that the programme has supported community groups, tourism projects, local enterprise and rural services.
"It has been one of the most effective programmes for helping rural communities to thrive," he added.
According to Keane, there is "real concern now that LEADER could be moved out of Pillar II of the CAP and into a wider funding pot".
"That would create uncertainty around a programme rural communities rely on and force it to compete with a plethora of other, unrelated funding priorities," he said.
He added: "This is not abstract EU funding... LEADER supports real projects in real communities.
"It has helped sustain villages, support enterprise and back community-led development in places that can often struggle for investment."
Keane pointed out that the Programme for Government commits the government to "engage at EU level to increase funding for the next LEADER programme".
The councillor called for "that commitment to be honoured".
"I want the government to be very clear in Brussels that LEADER should remain protected within the CAP," he said.
"This programme works because it is locally driven and community led. We should be strengthening it, not creating uncertainty around it."
He also called for access to LEADER funding to be made simpler for small community groups.
"Too often, groups are buried in paperwork when they should be focused on delivering projects. We need to protect the funding and reduce the bureaucracy around accessing it," Keane said.
