The Government is to take €10 million from LEADER funding to support a private roads scheme.

Sinn Féin TD for Meath West Peadar Tóibín said he is "appalled" at the decision.

Deputy Tóibín said: "LEADER is pivotal in providing local communities the resources they need to develop their areas. While the LIS which supports improvement works on private and non-public roads has obvious merits, I am appalled at the manner it has been funded – effectively robbing Peter to pay Paul.

"The government and Fianna Fáil are complicit in producing a budget which is deliberately deceptive in its promises. This is a prime example. The original budgetary allocation for LEADER in 2017 was €40 million. This was quietly reduced during the year to €30 million.

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"In this year's Budget, the government announce €5 million additional funding for LEADER in 2018. However this was based on the reduced figure of €30 million, bringing this year's allocation to €35 million. Therefore, significant cuts to funding during the year are concealed on the sly and are actually repackaged as an increase.

"LEADER funding has been of huge importance to rural communities throughout Ireland. Having once been a shining light for community leadership, changes brought about by Phil Hogan in 2014 have resulted in obtaining funds for local groups as a bureaucratic nightmare.

"Citizens have been made jump through 18 bureaucratic hoops just to achieve funding before they even start the particular project that they are seeking to develop. The over wrought process has ensured that only a hand full of projects have so far received funding in each county. Despite claims that the process has been reformed, funds are still not getting through to projects on the ground."

(CD/LM)