Gross expenditure of €291 million has been provided to my Department under the Further Revised Estimates for 2019. €132 million of this is allocated to the rural development programme area, with 93% of this being capital funding. At the end of September, current expenditure within the programme area is broadly on target, and capital expenditure is running slightly ahead of the profile estimated at the start of the year.
By the end of September over €63 million in capital funding has been invested in a range of rural development schemes including LEADER; the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF); Town and Village Renewal; Regional Economic Development; Local Improvement Scheme; and the National Rural Development Schemes (CLÁR and the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS)).
Expenditure on LEADER is running ahead of target as project approval ramp up and claims are made. While expenditure on the RRDF is behind profile, the rate of expenditure will accelerate to year end as approved projects complete the procurement stages into construction, and recoupment is sought by local authorities and other bodies in respect of works undertaken.
I have set out in the following table a breakdown by capital spend by subhead on rural development schemes to the end of September. It details spend to end September, the full year allocation, as well as expenditure against the profile estimated at the start of the year.
A - RURAL DEVELOPMENT & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
|
Spend - (to end of September)
|
Full year allocation
|
Profile to end Sept
|
% spend to Profile
|
|
€'000's
|
€'000's
|
€'000's
|
%
|
A.4 - NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES
|
8,147
|
15,000
|
7,149
|
114%
|
A.5 - LEADER - RURAL ECONOMY SUB PROGRAMME
|
31,600
|
30,000
|
16,440
|
192%
|
A.7 - TOWN AND VILLAGE REGENERATION
|
9,342
|
15,000
|
10,768
|
87%
|
A.8 - REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
|
4
|
700
|
450
|
1%
|
A.9 - LOCAL IMPROVEMENT SCHEME
|
4,302
|
10,000
|
4,208
|
102%
|
A.10 - RURAL REGENERATION & DEVELOPMENT FUND
|
9,780
|
52,000
|
20,750
|
47%
|
Total
|
63,175
|
122,700
|
59,873
|
106%
|