Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is an issue that continues to be raised. The Northern Ireland Minister of Finance, Conor Murphy, MLA, and I are both very anxious that the programme processes are efficient and effective, and place the minimum burden on applicants at the application stage and throughout the project, in the funding and in the drawdown of money under the programme. We have been working with the Special EU Programmes Body to make sure that we have a shorter and more efficient assessment process. That work is ongoing.

There will be pre-application support. That will involve the SEUPB engaging much earlier and on a one-to-one basis with potential applicants. That support will be of great assistance and should improve the overall experience for applicants, result in better quality applications and, hopefully, a higher success rate for individual applications.

The body will also make increased use of the simplified cost options, which will significantly improve the claims' processing times. This has been raised as a specific issue. I believe it is in development with the final programme and getting the finishing touches.

With regard to the administration of the programme, once applications come in we will see the real learnings. From talking with the Minister of Finance, Conor Murphy, and from engaging with the SEUPB, I am aware that they have learned from the existing programmes. They got the feedback and I gave an indication earlier of the level of public consultation. It really has been quite extensive. A consistent message was received from existing recipients under the current programmes, and those who aspire to be funded under PEACEPLUS. The answer will be in the detail in the roll out of PEACEPLUS. I am certainly very anxious to make sure that it is as streamlined and simplified as possible.