574. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the cumulative funding provided under Leader, in each county from 2020 to date in 2024, in tabular form. [37907/24]

The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. It supports a broad range of activities which aim to respond to the diversity of the local needs of our rural areas and is delivered at local level by Local Action Groups (LAGs).

From 2020 to date, projects to the value of over €145 million were approved for funding through the LEADER Programme. The table below gives a breakdown of the cumulative amount of funding approved under the 2014-2022 and 2023-2027 LEADER programmes by county during the referenced timeframe.

The LAGs are in the early stages of implementation of the 2023-2027 LEADER programme which involves engaging with their respective communities and working with them to develop their project proposals. Over the coming years I look forward to seeing the continued delivery of LEADER projects that support the development of our rural areas and communities.

Table 1: Funding Approved per county from 2020 to 23/09/2024