€180m to LEADER programme welcomed

Stakeholder engagements have taken place

An allocation of €180 million to the LEADER programme for the period 2023-2027 has been welcomed locally.

The indicative allocation, agreed as part of the new CAP Strategic Plan (CSP), will form the basis of public consultation ahead of its formal submission to the European Commission next year.

“Since its inception, the LEADER programme, through its ‘bottom up’ approach, has supported the delivery of locally-led projects across Cavan and Monaghan. The Leader Programme has been important to our rural areas since it was first launched in 1991,” said Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan and Monaghan, Brendan Smith.

This new allocation of €180 million will provide an overall investment for LEADER of €250 million until 2027.

Over the past year, a number of stakeholder engagements have taken place on the design of the next LEADER programme and the new CAP Strategic Plan as a whole.

The indicative allocation announced will now form part of the next stage of the stakeholder consultation that will commence shortly.

“I would like to recognise the work of my party colleague and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, who has played a leading role in developing the new CAP Strategic Plan,” said the local TD.