Fears over future of Leader

Fears over future of Leader restructuring


Public meeting to canvass support next Monday

Community Leaders and business people have called on Mayo’s TDs, senators and councillors to provide clear information regarding the changes under review to the Leader/Rural Development Programme.
There are fears that Minister Phil Hogan’s ‘Putting People First’ will radically change how the Leader/Rural Development Programme will be delivered in the future. He is proposing that local authority-led structures should take over the programme across Ireland. 
The South West Mayo Development Company (SWMDC), a community-led not-for-profit local development organisation providing funding, supports and training to communities and individuals throughout south and west Mayo, fear this will seriously threaten their future.
Following requests from community groups and local business people in south and west Mayo, two public meetings are to take place. Last night, in the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris, a large crowd gathered to listen to concerns while on Monday next, April 15 a similar meeting will take place in the Castlecourt Hotel in Westport, starting at 8pm.
“These changes will have far reaching consequences for people and communities hoping to benefit from Leader support in the future. People are very concerned that the Minister’s plans will needlessly change a successful structure that has worked for over 20 years. These meetings are an opportunity for people to hear what will happen if these changes go ahead and to have their say,” said SWMDC Chairman, Michael Biggins.
SeΡn Staunton, a former local councillor and former member of the SWMDC board said he was shocked at the lack of thinking behind proposals to re-assign authority, responsibility and funding from Leader companies to County Council-led structures. He went on to question what research has been carried out by the Minister to support these proposals.
“To describe such a reform measure as ‘Putting People First’ is a complete misnomer. In 1991, SWMDC was set up to deliver the first ever Leader programme. Existing agencies, including County Councils, did not meet the independent community-led structure required to deliver Leader. SWMDC is above party politics, with support and approval for projects based solely on the impact they could make on sustainable rural development. Few agencies in this country can claim the success of SWMDC in giving hope and practical economic help to marginalised rural areas,” he said.
Current SWMDC board member Sr Maureen Lally stated “We have come a long way since we were first established. SWMDC now has a small team of in-house experts on rural development, that come with years of experience in building trust and giving people ownership of their projects and local area. How long would it take to re-establish this expert team, if Leader were to be placed in a local authority led structure? The existing model works very effectively.”