Local development facing major threat
“We are not against change if it will improve the lives of people in the communities,” said Ryan Howard, CEO of South and East Cork Area Development (SECAD) speaking recently on behalf of LDCs in Cos Cork, Kerry and Waterford.
“We need good development support separately at local, county and national levels, and promoting better alignment between each level makes perfect sense. However, what is now being suggested by the Government’s ‘alignment’ policy is removal of core EU funding from LDCs, which will annihilate a successful community-led local development model for investing public funds, one of the best in Europe. This is not alignment but integration of the local model into the county council-based approach, and removes a development option for local people.”
“These changes will see a more bureaucratic system of funding application implemented, and will remove communities from managing and implementing these critical funds.”
Mr Howard said this will be detrimental to community projects such as business support and start up funding, training and mentoring, tourism projects and transport initiatives to connect rural and urban communities.
*What SECAD schemes would be affected, and how many people participate in them?
>>Our Board cannot see how we can survive without access to the EU LEADER contract, as it provides 60% of our funding and supports nearly all of our activity. We have been at this for over 17 years, and every year we surpass our targets. In the past year we have allocated €3.8m to over 30 small enterprises to develop, create and protect sustainable local jobs and to over 45 community projects such as playgrounds, walking routes, youth facilities, community halls and environment projects. We supported networking, marketing and training for over 150 existing tourism, crafts and food businesses. Also in 2012, we worked with the Department of Social Protection to place 150 unemployed people into employment experience. Through our social inclusion programme, we provided guidance, encouragement and motivation to a further 450 people who are trying to get back to work or self-employment. Our transport programmes provide passenger services every year to 11,000 people without access to public or private transport, including hundreds of older people living alone in rural areas, which are key to their ability to live in their own communities and homes.
*Are all these activities at least 50% EU funded?
>>Currently our EU LEADER funds which provide mentoring, training and grant supports to projects are at a rate of 85% from the EU. An exciting new announcement is that the EU will from 2014 also offer additional EU funding programmes including social inclusion, small scale infrastructure and coastal investments to community-led structures such as SECAD. This will be offered with an extra incentive requiring less Irish exchequer funds, potentially saving millions to the economy whilst providing a flow of investment into local enterprises and communities.
*The Government says LDCs spend between 15% and 30% of total funding on administration. Can the new set-up do better, and get more cash into the community?
>>There is a maximum administration spend of 20% on the EU LEADER funds. No LDC is allowed to exceed this limit and many LDCs in Ireland are expecting to achieve even better efficiency than this; this is comparable to the most efficient systems of use of public funds.
*Is the Government justified in seeking greater oversight, bearing in mind that some LDCs had to be liquidated, after irregularities were discovered?
>>LDCs delivering EU LEADER funds operate under the most stringent EU regulations, and far more oversight than any national requirements. Those operating LEADER funds are open to audit by a variety of Irish government departments, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and by EU institutions as high as the European Court of Auditors. This exceeds the requirements for Irish public bodies. Irish LDCs have for over 20 years achieved the highest standards in this regard, and developed the accreditation to manage EU funds, which is rare across Europe. There are a very small number of examples over the years where these standards were not achieved, and where proven, the consequences are reduction or ceasing of funds, and closure of companies.
*Politicians see a democratic deficit in local development decision making and in allocation of very large sums of money. How much of a role do elected representative have at the moment?
>>The idea of a democratic deficit on the boards of LDCs is not correct. Currently, 21% of board members are from the local authority. A further 33% are civic community leaders elected by open community elections. These are joined by nominees from state bodies and social partners such as farming bodies, employer representative bodies and trade unions, to complete the boards in a prescribed ‘partnership’ structure approved by the Irish Government and the EU for many years. The maximum term for a director is six years, with a rotation of one third of the members every year.
In SECAD, all board members work or live in our area. They are local people making decisions about local projects and local priorities. This underpins good local community-led development. If in a county like Cork, we have one such structure for the county, as suggested, this could not provide the level of local knowledge or oversight needed to achieve the results and targets we meet year after year. Locality matters in meeting LEADER objectives.
*The Government want to end potential for duplication and overlap in local development. Are you aware of much duplication and overlap, where does it occur?
>>There is little if any evidence of duplication between LDCs and other providers of support for development. The opposite is the case, with growing co-operation and collaboration between LDCs at local level, County Council staff at regional level and with national state supports. These linkages and joint initiatives have been encouraged and facilitated by the LDCs. For example, there is a growing number of successful collaborative projects between LDCs and the Department of Social Protection, like TUS, where LDCs will manage community work placements of 7,500 unemployed in 2013.
Where there may have been potential for duplication, this has been avoided through local agreement, as between LDCs and county enterprise boards.
*In the changeover to any new structure, are difficulties for some projects inevitable, due to interruption of ongoing funding?
>>At the end of the previous LEADER programme in 2006, the government oversaw a massive amalgamation, consolidation and reduction of the number of qualified LDC structures. This delayed the roll-out of programmes two years — a gap in funding for local enterprise and communities that created a major challenge when programmes re-opened in 2009. Today, these accredited LDCs are ready to begin roll-out of the new funding programmes in 2014.
However if current proposals go ahead, with new, unproven, unaccredited socio-economic committees within the local authorities, it is unclear how long it will take them to gain the capacity to even formulate a plan acceptable to the EU Commission. Additionally, they must prove their capacity to manage (through accreditation) and administer funds, with an EU regulatory framework that is nothing close to anything they have ever experienced.
Will this create delays, gaps and slow down in funding? Absolutely. The question will be, for how many years and at what cost to sustainability of our communities.
Will the rural economy in Ireland suffer as a result? This is a certainty.
*Can LDCs such as SECAD, West Cork Development Company, Ballyhoura Development, IRD Duhallow, The Islands Community LDC, survive without being able to get the contract for LEADER Funds?
>>No. This policy, if allowed to happen by our government, will result in the greatest ever loss of rural development intellectual property, a brain drain of Europe’s finest and the end of a chapter where we proved for once that we could compete with and be recognised as the best.
