Government blow to rural Ireland as Leader funding slashed
Councillor Jackie Cahill, a candidate in the upcoming Fianna Fail selection convention, has criticised the significant reduction of Leader Funding for Tipperary.
In a statement, Jackie said “For the next 6 years (2014 to 2020), the Government have announced that €10.1 Million will be allocated for the Leader Element of Rural Development Programme projects in County Tipperary (€5.7 Million for South Tipperary and €4.4 Million for North Tipperary). When compared with the €12.9 Million allocated to North Tipperary alone from 2007 to 2013, this shows the
Councillor Jackie Cahill
significance of the reductions in funding, a disaster for rural areas at a time when investment is badly needed. Although there was an opportunity to allocate additional funding for this scheme, the Government chose not to. The allocation of this funding was within the remit of Minister Alan Kelly which is all the more disappointing given the impact this will have in his own county of Tipperary. This further reduction in investment in rural Ireland under the Rural Development Programme will have far reaching consequences for the most marginalised in rural areas. I call upon Government to urgently review this allocation and restore the funding to its previous allocation”.
