Rural Development Minister Michelle Gildernew has announced her intention to proceed with delivery of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2007-2013 using the current seven council clusters, despite announcing on 13 March that the 26 local councils will be reduced to 11 as part of the Review of Public Administration.

The seven council clusters formed for the administration of the new Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 will provide valuable experience for those new councils, which will deliver rural development programmes post 2011, the Minister claimed.

Outlining the decision, she said: "I have been very encouraged by the progress and co-operation shown by the seven clusters, and it is to the local councils' credit that they have made such good progress in the delivery of the RDP. It is essential that the existing arrangements proceed to get the programme up and running. Our rural communities need to access this funding as soon as possible."

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She explained that a number of clusters have already engaged with their local communities and are close to forming Local Action Groups. Working with consultants and the council clusters, these Local Action Groups will start drawing up the strategies for their areas. It is anticipated that the first strategy will be submitted to the department for consideration by the start of May, and it is hoped that most clusters will be in a position to award grants to applicants by the autumn of this year.

Ms Gildernew said: "Due to the short life of European funding programmes and the tight time constraints imposed on their delivery, it is not possible to set all this good work aside and start from the beginning again. To do so would lose much-needed European funding to rural dwellers and the rural economy.

"It is worth remembering that the new councils will not come into being until 2011 when I would hope that a large percentage of the Rural Development Programme will already have been delivered," she concluded.

(VB/JM)