Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

It is money that was transferred from one section to another. It is referred to as PEACEPLUS funding. Responsibility for this funding transferred from the water quality section to the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment as part of the transfer of the marine environment function. PEACEPLUS is an INTERREG ERDF funding scheme managed by the special EU programmes body. It represents a funding partnership between the EU, the Government of the UK, the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive. The strands for funding projects include marine protected area climate change action plans, community and citizen participation initiatives and education and awareness training programmes. As I understand it, they were under another subhead in the Department of housing. While the marine environment sat in that Department the funding was all provided for it under the guidance of the marine environment section.

It had responsibility for it, but the money was coming from another section within that Department. Once we took the marine environment section over, we brought its funding , which was specifically aligned to it, over to us.