Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. As has been said on many occasions in this House, the shared island initiative is very welcome. My constituency of Cavan-Monaghan is benefiting through investment, for example with the Ulster Canal and also through committed investment in the further development of the Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark. It is the first UNESCO-recognised cross-border geopark in the world, encompassing parts of Cavan and parts of Fermanagh. This initiative and investment with the shared island local authority scheme will promote in a big way local tourism and biodiversity.

Ms Gina McIntyre of the Special EU Programmes Body was before the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement recently. We discussed the very valuable PEACEPLUS programme, with €1.4 billion provided by our Government, the British Government and the European Union. Since the mid-1990s when Albert Reynolds, John Hume and Jacques Delors put in place the first PEACE programme, €3.39 billion has been invested in those programmes. It has been hugely important. As a person who represents two southern Ulster counties I see the benefits of that investment in every parish, village and town.

As I have said in the past, we need to ensure we reach the really hard-to-reach groups so they are given an opportunity to participate and draw down benefits from these programmes. We always see the better resourced groups being able to avail of new schemes. I am thinking of the disadvantaged communities where there may not be the know-how or expertise to put in very significant applications. There must be a focus on ensuring everybody, including the most deprived, benefit from these welcome initiatives.

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