Although this would represent value for money, the rural development programme also has a socio-economic dimension. It is not simply about pure economics. The cost of the programme includes the important capacity-building work of the Rural Development Council and the rural community network. Although the Northern Ireland Audit Office report on the rural development programme stated that not every aspect of the programme represented good value for money, it recognised its positive impact in creating and safeguarding employment in rural areas.

The report also noted the high level and value of voluntary and community input to local projects, and I place a high value on those aspects of the programmes. It is too simplistic to divide the total programme costs by a number of jobs and conclude that that arbitrary figure represents the cost per job. There is more to rural development than pure economics — it also has an important social aspect.