Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There has been extensive consultation and engagement as part of this process. Forums have been held by the SEUBP with communities and bodies likely to be applying for funding under the different thematic areas. I referred to a specific one that took place in recent weeks. Considerable effort has been put into ensuring that this process is as simple and straightforward as possible.

One of the learnings from previous programmes is to ensure that the funding is accessible. Pre-application support to facilitate early mobilisation of the programme following its approval by the European Commission has already commenced. There was a workshop for potential applicants on 10 December. Consultants have been appointed and are working with local authorities across the programme on the design of their PEACEPLUS community peace action plans. We expect that the groundwork and preparation will be helpful when it comes to the formal application stage in the coming months.