Funding was announced for the LEADER programme two weeks ago. I welcome that this funding has been put in place. County Galway received an allocation of €9 million for the next five years and this process has shown the funding we are getting per head of population is at the lower end of the scale. We are getting €46.63 per person for the next five years. A comparative analysis with other counties, for example, the other four counties in Connacht and the average funding they are going to get, shows that if County Galway's allocation was brought up to that average, we would be entitled to not €9 million but €18 million.

I assure the Ministers that I am not looking for €18 million today. We are, though, being put at the lower end of the scale. I do not know for what reason. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is present. He knows we have the same problem with local government funding. It seems as if County Galway is being penalised for some reason. I do not know whether it may have been because we did not join the city and county councils together or whatever the underlying reason might be, but County Galway is getting the lower end of the scale of funding allocation. For instance, Cork, the county of the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, is getting an additional €3 million in LEADER funding this year. This situation cannot continue in a county that is so diverse and has as many different regions and challenges as Galway. The county is part of the North and West Regional Assembly area, which has been designated by the EU as a lagging region and one that needs positive discrimination in investment to try to bring the amount allocated per capita up to allow the country to have balanced development.

The argument here is not about the amount of the reduction; it is about the basis on which we are being funded and how much we are getting per capita compared to everybody else. I do not begrudge Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo or Leitrim, or any other county, what it is getting but when one sees what they are getting compared to what we are getting, there are many questions to be asked. I would like to see at some stage the metrics by which this funding is being allocated on a county-wide basis. It is something that many people in Galway are uneasy about. The trend is continuing. Following on from Galway County Council having one of the lowest funding allocations, we have this. I would appreciate a response.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of LEADER funding in Galway. The first point I want to make is that there is no cut in LEADER funding. That is not the core point he made. The point he made is about the per capita allocation. As part of the new €10 billion CAP strategic plan, the Government has committed significant funding of €108 million to LEADER for the period 2023 to 2027. When that is taken together with the €70 million provided by the Government for last year and this year, this maintains the €250 million funding for LEADER for the corresponding seven-year programming period from 2014 to 2020.

All of the €180 million will be allocated upfront to local LEADER areas. This is a change from the previous programme where €30 million was withheld to fund initiatives delivered at a national level, such as the LEADER food initiative. When combined with the transitional funding, this means that all LEADER areas, including Galway, have an increased allocation of core programme funding compared to the corresponding seven-year period 2014 to 2020.

It is only one part of the contribution that the Government and all the bodies that work under our aegis are making to the regions and, indeed, to rural Ireland. When I look at the current range of schemes principally administered by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, and by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, whether it be the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the new community centres fund that is being set up, the town and village renewal programme, the CLÁR programme, the outdoor recreation fund or, indeed, the record sports capital funding of €150 million that we provided earlier this year, much of the funding went to the regions and to rural Ireland. When I look at the population figures, I see in Galway the population has risen by more than 7%, unemployment has fallen and we can see the benefits and the fruits of continued investment by the Government and, indeed, by a range of public bodies.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, recently confirmed the extension of the Croí Cónaithe towns and villages fund to rural Ireland as well. The ability to get direct cash-grant support of €30,000 or, in the case of a derelict home, €50,000 to bring it back into occupancy is something that will be warmly welcomed in rural communities all over Ireland. The details of that, I believe, will be confirmed shortly by the Minister. It is a practical demonstration of the Government's commitment to, and support for, rural communities all over Ireland.

Decisions will always have to be made about the allocation of resources. The Deputy made the point about the specific per capita amount for Galway. The approach that has been taken by the Minister is to provide a minimum allocation of €3 million to each sub-regional area with the remaining funding distributed based on population and the level of deprivation of the area. This ensures funding is targeted at the areas most in need of LEADER support. This approach is similar to the approach taken under the previous LEADER programme with the relevant population and deprivation figures updated to take account of the passage of time.

I do not disagree regarding all the schemes that are there, but they are available to everybody right across the country.

The Minister mentioned rural regeneration and urban regeneration and all these funds. They are welcome and they create better investment for a better environment to work and live in in rural areas.

The kernel of my point is not about a reduction; it is about how the funds are being allocated on a county-by-county basis. The Minister has not answered that question. For instance, if you tell people in Glenamaddy, Williamstown or in Connemara that there is population growth in their areas, you will be at your wit's end trying to find out where is the population growth.

There is something fundamentally wrong with how the funding is allocated when there is such variance. In County Roscommon it is €97 per head and in County Sligo it is €87 per head. We are down to €46. There is no logical explanation for it. I would like to see a transparent way of doing this so every county gets a fair share.

I thank Deputy Canney. As he knows, Galway has been allocated €9 million for the period 2023-27. When we take this in conjunction with the transitional funding for Galway, which is €3.6 million for 2021 and 2022, it gives a total LEADER allocation of €12.6 million for the county for the period 2021-27. For the corresponding period 2014-20, County Galway had a core programme funding allocation of €12.2 million. I know the Deputy is not making the case it was reduced because it was not reduced. It was increased by 3.5% on a like-for-like basis. The Minister has been open and transparent as to how allocations are made. It is based on a number of factors with a minimum allocation for each subregional area. The balance of the funding is distributed based on the population and, critically, the level of deprivation. There are measures of this and it has been done in an open way by the Department to ensure we can stand over the allocations that have been made.