Row erupts in West Cork over management of EU funding

A row has erupted in West Cork over the administration of millions of in EU LEADER funding.

A formal appeal is expected to be lodged within days by the West Cork Development Partnership. Despite the rural development group overseeing the region’s LEADER funding for the last 25 years and being hailed as one of Europe’s top performers, it lost the competitive bid to manage the latest round of funding.

An independent selection committee has chosen three local authority-backed Local Community Development Committees (LCDC), in North Cork, South Cork, and West Cork, to manage the LEADER funding until 2020.

The €13.93m allocation is a 70% drop. Up to €5m will be available for projects in West Cork.

However, the WCDP is now poised to appeal the decision.

Its CEO, Ian Dempsey, expressed his deep disappointment at the decision and confirmed that an appeal would be lodged by July 22.

“To say that this comes as a considerable disappointment — after 25 years of high-quality programme planning, delivery, financial management, and compliance, and as an unrivalled exemplar of the EU LEADER philosophy — would be a massive understatement.

“A number of steps are in train, including a formal appeal, which, amongst other matters, will fully represent the concern, anger, and frustration communicated by many, many people throughout West Cork in recent days.”

His concerns have been backed by Caroline Crowley, a local development and social-inclusion researcher, who lives in West Cork.

“I am dumbfounded that the WCDP, one of the most successful local-development organisations in the State and a model of best practice in the EU, has not been awarded the LEADER programme for the region,” she said.

“This is a bad decision for West Cork and its people, for Irish civil society, and for the future of community-led local development in Ireland”.

The WCDP, and its structures, now face an uncertain future.

Ms Crowley has written an open letter to TDs, outlining her concerns, and has asked the chief executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey, to outline how the new funding structures would work.

She said that WCDP was internationally renowned, and has been held up as an example of best practice in LEADER compliance, accountability, and risk-management.

A 2010 audit of LEADER, by the European Court of Auditors, across EU states, singled out WCDP for praise, citing its development activity, its transparency, and its good administration.

Petri Rinne, the former chairperson of the European LEADER network, described WCDP as “the inspiring LEADER-implementation model for many”.

Ms Crowley said: “If you take away WCDP, then this vital glue, this immense social capital, breaks down. We will only see this when it is too late.”

She urged the Government not to “destroy one of the best-performing LEADER organisations” in Ireland and the EU.