Department defends €200k grant for 'elitist' foodie gathering

Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys said the festival had been awarded the money under a rural LEADER initiative. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

The Department of Rural Affairs has defended giving a €200,000 grant to a festival that has been described as an "elitist" foodie gathering for the well-connected.

The Great Gathering, which takes place in Wicklow in June, bills itself as a "fusion of delicious foods and gripping conversations". 

Headline acts include chefs Rachel Allen and Yotam Ottolenghi and writer Jon Ronson.

Tickets for the weekend are priced from €130 per adult. 

In a parliamentary response to independent TD Carol Nolan, Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys said it had been awarded the money under a rural LEADER initiative.

"The LEADER Food Initiative is a measure under the LEADER programme which aims to support the further development of food and beverage businesses throughout rural Ireland," said Ms Humphreys.

However, Ms Nolan told the Irish Examiner she asked the question because the festival’s marketing indicated part of its funding was coming from Project Ireland 2040. 

The Dáil's Rural Group of TDs, of which Ms Nolan is a part, brought forward a bill in recent weeks which sought to "ensure transparency for projects that are funded through Project Ireland 2040".

She said the issue with the funding was both the size of the award and that the festival is "perceived as being somewhat elitist".

"The €200,000 in funding is, I understand, one of the highest amounts that LEADER Local Action Group funding can receive as a grant," said Ms Nolan.

I welcome supporting artisan food and local rural producers, but I am also aware that the size of the grant has left many local community organisations feeling very aggrieved because, for them, the experience of trying to get funding through LEADER or any other departmental system is cumbersome and difficult.

"This is compounded by the sense that the festival is being perceived, rightly or wrongly, as somewhat elitist and only for the well-off or well-connected."

In a statement, the department said the development of the food and beverage sector is highlighted as a key objective of Wicklow's Local Development Strategy. 

It said the festival is "a new and innovative project for the county", and there is "also a regional product development element as this project also intends to promote Wicklow as a food destination". 

This should deliver "social and economic benefit to the area with the festival featuring a focus on food poverty, waste, and sustainability", the department said.