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
Ms Gina McIntyre:
At the minute, that is probably it for category 1.4. We were subscribed and we are allocating that money. That is not to say that at some point in the future if there is another area that does not spend, as I was saying in reply to the Cathaoirleach, we might move money to that. We would obviously move money to where it is going to spend best. However, capital builds are notoriously difficult and slow. That is why we have eight left over at the minute that are yet to finish. We are already running behind on spending deadlines and targets. We have to spend a certain amount every year to keep in line with the Commission targets. We have to look at those projects that can spend within the timeframe we have for the programme. There are other areas with potential for rural development, which is category 4.3, and potentially for the social inclusion aspect. We can match fund in programme activities. We fund many sports projects and the majority of capital projects we have funded have an attached sports facility. The ones we have that will open this year include the Monaghan Peace Campus, though it does not actually have a sports facility, the Clones Peace Link, the Girdwood centre, the Waterside Shared Village in Derry or Londonderry. All of those projects have significant sporting facilities in those areas.
Regarding rural areas, I think the only thing would be through the council's local action plan if it thought there was an opportunity to invest in capital, or through the rural development programme. We would have much activity in sports through the regional projects. That is about to open. As Mr. Huddleston mentioned earlier, they are working on that call for regional development. We can fund and have funded all of the agencies coming together and doing much work. It has to be more than just the sport itself. There has to be the wellbeing aspect. More than that, it is a PEACEPLUS programme. It contributes to peacebuilding too. It means bringing the communities together and maybe doing an activity of reconciliation work. That is not always as easy to do in a facility where people are just using the facilities and leaving. Most of the agencies would have known that the money was there. Many applications are in. Many related to sports facilities.
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