Experience of Rural Development policies through a bottomup approach

1
Experience of Rural Development policies through
a bottom-up approach

• Pat Moynan, Dept. of Community, Rural and
  Gaeltacht Affairs

2
Role of Managing Authority

• Until 2002 LEADER managed by Ministry of
  Agriculture and Rural Development
• New Ministry of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht
  Affairs established in 2002
• Rural Development Division responsible for all
  policy and operational issues relating to LEADER

3
Strength of community organisations

• Historically, Ireland has had a strong base of
  community and rural development organisations
• Self-help approach to resolving issues for
  farmers and for rural dwellers
• Organisations emerged to tackle issues as varied
  as very heavy rural unemployment and common
  processing of agricultural produce

4
Emergence of LEADER

• LEADER pilot in Ireland started in 1991
• Initially in 17 areas
• 1994-99 round of funding saw growth to cover all
  areas which continued in the 2000-06 round
• 35 Area Based Groups and 3 national bodies
  delivered the 2000-06 round
• At this stage the bottom-up philosophy of LEADER
  is accepted as part of the rural landscape

5
Structure of Groups

• Groups comprise at least 50 per cent
  representatives from community and voluntary
  sector
• Also include representatives of the social
  partners such as trade unions, business
  representatives and the farming organisations
• Representatives from relevant state bodies and
  local government representatives also
  participate

6
How Groups operate

• Dept. issues rules which are based on the
  relevant EU regulations
• Rules outline terms of eligibility of projects
  and other requirements to ensure compliance with
  EU policies on areas such as Procurement,
  Equality and Information and Publicity
• All projects are considered by Groups Evaluation
  Committee which makes recommendations to the
  Board

7
How Groups operate

• Board considers recommendation
• Ultimate decision is with the Board who operate
  in an independent and impartial way
• Dept. does not sit on Board or seek to influence
  the Board in any way
• Decision is for local board to make

8
Achievement of Groups

• Groups have become very important economic and
  social actors in their communities
• LEADER is the cornerstone of their activities
• Over time Groups have been allocated
  responsibility for new national Programmes such
  as CLÁR, the Rural Social Scheme and the
  Community Supports Programme

9
Achievement of Groups

• Groups also involved in other E.U. Programmes
  such as EQUAL, PEACE and Interreg.
• Groups seen locally as well-managed and
  deliverers of services in a fair way to local
  communities

10
Future for LEADER in Ireland

• Rural Development Programme for Ireland 2007-13
  approved on July 24th 2007
• Axis 3 and Axis 4 will be delivered by Local
  Action Groups
• Budget for 2007-13 is 425.4m, almost treble the
  funding available for the previous round
• Business plan evaluators to be appointed in early
  October

11
Future for LEADER in Ireland

• Business plans to be sought from prospective
  Local Action Groups in the near future
• Hoped to have report with Minister before the end
  of this year
• Proposal to Government in early 2008
• Commencement of new Programme in Spring 2008

12
Formal procedures

• Candidate must show an ability to define and
  implement a development strategy for the area
• Coherent area coverage
• Candidates must submit a business plan for the
  area

13
Formal procedures

• Art. 62 of Reg. (EC) 1698/2005
• Candidate must propose an integrated local
  development model based on the LEADER approach.
• Must have worked on a previous LEADER Programme
  or be a new group with partners from the various
  locally based socioeconomic sectors

14
Shape of new Programme

• New Programme will prioritise the following
• Ongoing development of the rural/agri tourism
  sector, the small food/artisan food producer, the
  craft sector, the implementation of the
  Countryside Recreation Strategy and general
  supports for rural enterprise
• Co-operation with Northern Ireland Local Action
  Groups is expected to increase significantly
• Will also ensure complementarity between
  Programme and other EU/National Programmes

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• Further information
• www.pobail.ie
• www.ilsu.ie