The Tipperary based chair of the Irish Local Development Network says the country’s 49 Local Development Companies are calling for an extra 19 million euro per year for the rural development programme known as LEADER.
The call is being made in the Budget 2023 submission to Government by the ILDN which is the representative body for the 49 Local Development Companies around the country.
It says the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme funding is now at approximately half the level it was at in 2008.
Spokesperson Tipperary’s Jim Finn says recent reductions in the budget are damaging business development in rural Ireland.
“The programme that is now proposed from 2023 to 2027 – there’s €180 million in the budget. If you look at the previous four and a half years there was an average of €55 million per year and that was €250 million in the budget.
“So the €55 million has come down to €36 million – that definitely reflects a major cut to rural communities.”
