Taoiseach attends launch of €1.1 billion PEACEPLUS EU Programme
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today (Monday) joined Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery & Reform Paschal Donohoe, European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland the Rt Hon. Chris Heaton-Harris MP and head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Dr Jayne Brady in Belfast to launch the PEACEPLUS cross-border EU programme.
PEACEPLUS is a new and unique cross-border EU programme for the 2021-27 European programming period. With an unprecedented budget of €1.1 billion, it will invest in projects supporting shared peace and prosperity across a programme area of Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland including Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo.
Successive iterations of the EU’s INTERREG and PEACE cross-border programmes have between them invested some €3.3 billion on the island of Ireland since their inception in the 1990s. PEACEPLUS succeeds them by combining these two cross-border funding strands into a new and cohesive programme for the decade ahead.
With a budget of more than twice the combined value of the most recent INTERREG and PEACE programmes, the new programme has been structured around six thematic investment areas:
- Building Peaceful and Thriving Communities;
- Delivering Economic Regeneration and Transformation;
- Empowering and Investing in our Young People;
- Healthy and Inclusive Communities;
- Supporting a Sustainable Future;
- Building and Embedding Partnership and Collaboration
Programme development has been led by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a cross-border North South Implementation Body jointly sponsored by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in Ireland and the Minister of Finance in Northern Ireland.
The draft PEACEPLUS programme was approved by Government, by the Northern Ireland Executive and by the North South Ministerial Council in October 2021, and formally adopted by the European Commission in July 2022. A Financing Agreement between Ireland, the EU and the UK was completed earlier this year, allowing PEACEPLUS to open for funding applications in June.
Today’s launch was hosted by the SEUPB at Newforge Community Development Trust Shared Space in south Belfast. This new shared space received funding of €5.8m from the EU PEACE IV programme to transform the former PSNI Sports Club at Newforge into a mixed-used community facility.
Speaking today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “It’s a real pleasure to be here in Belfast to formally launch the PEACEPLUS programme. With record funding of €1.1 billion, PEACEPLUS is an unprecedented investment by the EU, the UK, Ireland and Northern Ireland in reconciliation and cross-border cooperation, helping to build peace and promote prosperity on the island.
“Although we are making this announcement against the stark backdrop of suspended power-sharing Institutions, today is a welcome reminder of just what is possible, and how we can make real progress. When Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK and the EU work together, it yields a significant dividend for Northern Ireland and the border region.”
The Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin said: “The record funding pledged through the new PEACEPLUS programme by the EU, UK government and Irish government demonstrates our collective support to building the people-to-people and community-to-community relations that are vital components of peace and reconciliation.
“The PEACE and INTERREG programmes have already created solid foundations in this respect. I look forward to the PEACEPLUS programme further building on this work through creating and strengthening meaningful connections, cooperation and trust between different communities and traditions - something which is also at the heart of the government’s Shared Island initiative."
Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Paschal Donohoe said: “I’m very pleased to join our partners today to mark this formal launch of the PEACEPLUS programme. As co-sponsor Minister for the body, I am very proud of the Special EU Programmes Body and their exceptional work in developing the PEACEPLUS programme. The programme is one of true scale and ambition, which will empower communities, enterprises and other organisations to work together to build peace and prosperity across the programme area.
“I am delighted that PEACEPLUS has recently opened for the first applications and I look forward to following its progress ahead. I know that it will make a real difference to the lives of so many.”
ENDS
Notes for editors
Further information on the PEACE PLUS programme is at: PEACEPLUS Programme - SEUPB.
Development and management of EU North South programmes is the responsibility of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a North South Implementation Body established under the Good Friday Agreement. The SEUPB is headquartered in Belfast, with smaller offices in Omagh and Monaghan, and is jointly sponsored by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in Ireland and the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland.
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