Fears have been raised that a row over the running of a key rural development scheme could see a slowdown in the amount of money made available in Clare.
Two competing groups are seeking to run the LEADER program, which has seen a total of tens of millions of euro invested in Clare over the years.
The EU's LEADER Rural Development Program has seen millions of euro invested in projects throughout Clare in recent years.
In one year alone, 2011, 1.25 million was invested and at least 70 full-time jobs were created in projects associated with the scheme.
The amount of money supplied for it, however, has now been cut and the government is also looking to change the way that it is administered.
Until now, the independent Clare Local Development Committee has run the scheme, but the government now wants Council-led Development Committees to get involved.
Lissycasey Fianna Fáil Councillor PJ Kelly is among those disappointed at the proposed changes. Speaking to Clarefm, he said the majority of Councillors "want the best for the county at the cheapest cost" and believes "if it wasn't broken" it wasn't "right to go fixing it".
Both groups can now apply to run LEADER in Clare, but with government policy favouring the new group, Doreen Graham of CLDC isn't optimisic.
Clare County Council says there is room for both groups to stay involved.
It wants the new body, which includes a range of community interests, to decide which projects should benefit and for the Local Development Company to then manage this.
Ger Dollard of the Council insists this doesn't amount to an unnecessary duplication, but he has warned that any rows could lead to delays in how long it would take to get money onto the ground.
