Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 18 January 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement

PEACEPLUS Programme: Special EU Programmes Body

Mr. Mark Huddleston:

I will follow up on that question briefly. The victims and survivors service application under theme 4, investment area 4.3, is well through assessment at the moment. There is some innovative activity there and a broader reach into the entire programme area is being driven through that. Youth mental health, which Ms McIntyre mentioned, is also well through assessment. There is a huge opportunity because we are still finishing the call document under theme 1, investment area 1.3, which is building positive relations, to address some of the challenges that were just mentioned and reach those communities that we might not have reached before right through to those we have engaged with largely in the post-conflict legacy, like ex-prisoners and ex-security service personnel. There is something coming to the fore, and an ongoing strategy is being developed in both jurisdictions. Yesterday, the joint secretariat team met and was presented with information by the Executive office here in Northern Ireland around the ending violence against women and girls strategy here in the North. We are looking to see how we can further build that type of strategy and support that type of activity and work, which is needed in a post-conflict era in Northern Ireland.

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