LEADER funds can be diverted to other schemes

LEADER funds can legally be diverted by the Government into other rural development initiatives, EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos said during his recent visit to the Dáil.

Commissioner Ciolos said that member states had some discretion on how to use EU funds. He was replying to a press query, but said that this issue had not been raised with him in meetings with politicians or any farming representative body.

“The current EU situation does allow an opportunity to adapt spending within the period of a programme,” he said. “We did discuss this issue, but I don’t know of any talk about moving money from LEADER. I understand that Ireland gives high importance to this kind of programme, and I can assure you that we will maintain this.”