Leitrim backs campaign to protect LEADER funding

Bryan Smyth in front of the Clens Centre in Manorhamilton, which has received LEADER funding | iconic

placeholder image — Bryan Smyth in front of the Clens Centre in Manorhamilton, which has received LEADER funding | iconic

Members and friends of Aughavas-Cloone Active Age Group pictured enjoying a stop-off at Biddy’s O’Barnes during their recent five-day summer tour of Derry and Donegal, alongside their coach driver Paul. The group’s transport was provided by McWeeney Coaches, Dromod.

Leitrim Development Company has joined a national call for funding to be ringfenced for local development programmes under the LEADER scheme as discussions begin on the next EU budget.

The appeal comes as the Local Development Company Network (LDCN) published a report highlighting 35 years of LEADER investment in Ireland amid concerns funding for the programme could come under pressure in the next round of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Under the LEADER programme, European funding is provided for a range of commercial, community and social projects in rural areas as part of the CAP.

Funding for LEADER in Leitrim has fallen from €10.125 million, supporting 253 projects during the 2007 programme, to €4.7 million in the current funding cycle.

"The budget has been reducing, but we think it's gone too low at this point," said Bryan Smyth, Head of Strategy at Leitrim Development Company.

"There isn't a town or village in the county that we haven't supported in there, whether it's a community project, a business, or a farm. We do farm diversification. We do sports facilities, recreation facilities, community facilities, community centres."

Recent LEADER-funded projects in Leitrim include a new outdoor water park in Drumshanbo and the development of the tennis club in Drumshanbo.

The budget for the 2027 round of CAP funding is currently being discussed, and there is concern that LEADER funding could shrink as EU attention shifts towards defence spending.

Previously, it was mandatory for member states to ring-fence 10% of CAP funding for the LEADER programme, but proposed changes would remove that requirement.

"There is competition for CAP scheme funds with agriculture projects relied upon by organisations including the IFA, ICMSA and the ICSA," Smyth said.

"Obviously, if there's a cut on the budget, then the Department of Agriculture, the Minister for Agriculture, would be looking at ways to find as much to put in there as possible. So that fact that the leader is not ring-fenced anymore leaves it more vulnerable.

"We're keen that the budget be maintained and also ring-fenced, because if it's not ring-fenced, the chances are that the local Member State government, which is the Irish government in this case, will push more of the funding over towards the farm elements and reduce that to the rural development or community development side."

Nationally, between 2016 and 2026, LEADER supported 6,858 projects, delivering €286.7 million in funding and leveraging an additional €143 million in matched investment for rural communities and enterprises.

The LDCN report was presented to MEPs, policymakers and sector leaders at Europe House in Dublin to underline the importance of safeguarding LEADER as a cornerstone of EU rural development policy.

Speaking at the event, LDCN CEO Máirín Ó Cuireáin said: "As Ireland assumes the EU Presidency, there is a vital opportunity to ensure that LEADER remains a protected, ringfenced instrument within the next European budget.

“Over more than three decades, this programme has empowered communities to shape their own futures, supporting local enterprise, strengthening social inclusion, and sustaining rural life across the country."