Only .6 percent or €100,000 of a 200 million euro allocation has been spent halfway into the Leader programme.
Deputy Eamon O’Cuiv who’s warning there will be another substantial underspend this year is blaming it on bureaucracy.
The Fianna Fáil spokesman on rural affairs says the average grant being awarded is around 24 thousand euro which is too small to have any meaningful effect on rural development.
He thinks the process should be made easier for people to access funding to help create employment and services in rural communities.
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