The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today welcomed an allocation of €180 million to the LEADER programme for the period 2023-2027.
The indicative allocation, agreed as part of the new CAP Strategic Plan (CSP), will form the basis of public consultation ahead of its formal submission to the European Commission next year.
Combined with the €70 million Minister Humphreys secured for the LEADER Transition Programme, the total funding for LEADER over the next seven years will be €250 million. This is the equivalent investment secured for the previous LEADER programme, which ran over the period 2014-2020.
Welcoming the funding allocation for LEADER, Minister Humphreys said: “Last year, I launched the €70 million LEADER Transitional Programme in order to continue to support rural communities and enterprises while a new programme was being developed.
“Today’s indicative allocation of €180 million means we will be in a position, once again, to provide an overall investment for LEADER of €250 million until 2027.”
Over the past year, a number of stakeholder engagements have taken place on the design of the next LEADER programme and the new CAP Strategic Plan as a whole.
The indicative allocation announced today will now form part of the next stage of the stakeholder consultation that will commence shortly.
Minister Humphreys continued: “Since its inception, the LEADER programme, through its ‘bottom up’ approach, has supported the delivery of locally-led projects the length and breadth of the country.
“The indicative funding allocation announced today will ensure that communities will continue to have the financial support to meet the new and emerging challenges across rural areas.”
You can view the full press release here.
