LEADER companies happy with funding
Oliver Cassidy, chairman Comhar LEADER na hÉireann, their national umbrella body, said this increase is a vindication of the work done by the 37 Irish LEADER companies throughout the country over the last decade and more. “This is not just good news for LEADER companies. This is great news for rural communities. It means that the kinds of enterprise creation, training, community development and research that LEADER has delivered in rural communities over the past 15 years will not only continue but will expand.”
Comhar LEADER also welcomed the decision to commit 10% of the rural development budget to the improvement of rural services and said it is vital that these services are supported in order to sustain rural population.
Mr Cassidy, who congratulated Ministers Mary Coughlan and Eamon O’Cuiv, said EU policies and funding are only half the story. These developments will only become reality when the national governments put their moral and financial backs into the work.
“In this regard, we look forward to the nationwide consultation the ministers have promised in preparation for a national rural development plan that will follow from this agreement.”
Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness said the new rural development policy direction was “a step in the right direction” but its implementation depends on EU heads of government reaching budgetary agreement.
