Co-op lodges complaint against Government with EU

A FORMAL complaint against the Government and the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has been lodged with the European Commission by Cavan Monaghan Rural Development Co-op.

The complaint concerns the tendering process to be employed by the department for the local delivery of the 2007–2013 Rural Development Programme.

A delegation from the Cavan Monaghan society, which has managed the LEADER programme in the two counties since the early 1990s, travelled to Brussels this week and met with officials from DG Agriculture and Rural Development.

Derek McCabe, chairman, said the delegationexplained to Commission officials that Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon Ó Cuiv is imposing county-based structures in each county as the delivery mechanism for the 2007-2013 Rural Development Programme.

“This means that cross county organisations like ours, with a proven track record in rural development over two counties will not be considered when it comes to the tendering process for delivery of the programme,” he said.

MEP Marian Harkin, who met with the delegation, said Mr Ó Cuiv has forced successful groups all over the country to abandon their successes and merge into untried county structures.

“He has shown patent disregard for the bottom up nature of the LEADER programme, for EU guidelines and for basic standards of fair play,” she said.

Mr Ó Cuiv announced last month that the Government had agreed new streamlined structures to improve local delivery of local and community development programmes.

Under the new arrangements, there will be one local development company in any given area and fewer local development companies overall.

Mr Ó Cuiv said in line with a recent Government decision, LEADER and Partnership companies have agreed to operate across new areas of coverage which have been aligned, as far as practicable, with county and city boundaries.

These new arrangements will involve the establishment of integrated companies in some 27 rural areas across the country.

Mr Ó Cuiv said these new more streamlined arrangements will make it easier for people throughout the State to access Government funded programmes.