Leader companies - Don’t scrap a system that works

Urban dwellers may not be aware of the importance of the EU’s Leader programme to our economy.

For the past 22 years, it has allowed the channelling of investment to thousands of projects in rural Ireland and continues to punch above its weight in terms of the number of jobs it supports.

Part of that success story has been the way it has been administered and managed locally. Launched in 1991 by the then commissioner for agriculture, Ray MacSharry, funding under Leader is administered by not for profit local development companies who distribute grants and other supports to projects within their areas. The approach and success of the programme in Ireland is regarded internationally as a model of best practice and the Irish LDCs are at the forefront of an EU-wide Leader movement constituting more than 2,000 groups in 28 member states. That is all about to change.