Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 13: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will explain the way the proposal from a group (details supplied) does not meet the eligibility criteria of his reconciliation anti-sectarianism fund in view of the fact this group are already working with the most hard to reach loyalists groups in Northern Ireland, already involved in a cross-community network of women from North Belfast and Derry and also in a sensitive exchange between ex-combatants from North Belfast loyalists and Derry Letterkenny republicans; if he will provide a list of the projects funded in this round and explain the way they meet the eligibility criteria. [13214/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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My Department is the supervising Department, in cooperation with the Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland, for the Special European Union Programmes Body (SEUPB), a north-south body established under the Good Friday Agreement. The SEUPB is responsible for managing the cross-border PEACE and INTERREG programmes which are both co-funded by the EU. The SEUPB has advised that an application, of which the group was a co-applicant, was rejected in June 2010. This application was under theme 1.2 (acknowledging and dealing with the past) of the PEACE III programme. Theme 1.2 is managed for the SEUPB by the consortium of Pobal and the Community Relations Council of Northern Ireland.

PEACE funding allocation is based on a comprehensive and robust application and approval process. The process involves full project appraisal and scoring which is based on specific criteria relating to the overall aims, priorities and themes of the programme as well as a number of non-specific criteria such as value for money/value added, need and contribution to a number of cross cutting themes.

All funding applications are subject to the above process which ensures that funding is allocated in an effective manner. After a thorough assessment, the decision on whether or not to allocate funding to an application is taken by a Steering Committee, which is composed of nominated representatives of various government and public sector organisations both in Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as representatives from civil society and the voluntary sector.

The Steering Committee determined that the application in question, for a project entitled 'Living History', failed to meet the minimum threshold necessary for the Programme Specific Criteria. The Programme Specific Criteria for the theme 1.2 (acknowledging and dealing with the past), under which the application was submitted, include:

Evidence of how the project contributes to the overall objective of the Programme, which is to reinforce progress towards a peaceful and stable society and to promote reconciliation.

Evidence of how the project contributes to Priority 1: Reconciling Communities, Theme 1.2, Acknowledging and Dealing with the Past.

Assessment on whether the project is targeted at a clearly identified area that has been affected by the conflict and has experienced particular problems of segregation, marginalisation and isolation.

The intention to work with any of the target groups named in the Operational Programme.

The application also failed to meet the efficiency and effectiveness criteria, which was assessed on the basis of the information provided within the application and of an Economic Appraisal specific to the project conducted as part of the assessment process.

Following a decision by the Steering Committee, applicants have a period of four weeks from the date of issue of the letter of rejection to appeal the decision and ask for a review of the application. This procedure was outlined to the lead applicant during a meeting with the Community Relations Council, in which the reasons for rejection of the application were explained in detail. The lead applicant did not request a review of the application.

A list of the beneficiaries of the PEACE and INTERREG programmes is available on the SEUPB website at the following address: http://www.seupb.eu/programmes2007-2013/beneficiaries.aspx.