Burton coy on plans to abolish rural development firms

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton yesterday refused to be drawn on the controversy surrounding the Government’s plans to abolish EU-backed rural development companies.

Cabinet colleague Phil Hogan, the environment minister, is proposing to replace the community-based companies with socio-economic committees at county level which would operate under the control of county councils.

The proposal is being strongly opposed by companies in Cork and Kerry which have already met with Ms Burton, who yesterday opened a new one-stop shop office for one such company, South Kerry Development Partnership (SKDP) in Killarney.

She said the issue of realigning the companies was being handled by Mr Hogan, and that he was talking to the different parties involved. The objective, she added, was to ensure that any assistance available went to communities in most need.

“Mr Hogan is very conscious of all the good work the partnerships have done and the objective is to ensure the best possible use of resources to ensure this work continues,” she said.

Ms Burton, whose department funds some of the work, also paid tribute to the SKDP, which she described as a model for other parts of the country.

Upwards of 250 local projects have been assisted by the SKDP in the past year, mainly creating jobs in small enterprises. Many of the initiatives are based on natural resources including the marine, farming, and tourism.

The companies, some in existence for more than 20 years, draw down between €150m and €200m in funding per year.

SKDP chief executive Noel Spillane said there were serious concerns about Mr Hogan’s plans. “We work on a bottom-up approach and the big fear is that the community ethos would be lost under the proposed new structure.

“Since 1991, we have established close connections with communities and are working very effectively with them on the ground.”