Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline projects which his Department cooperates with the Department of Finance and Personnel in the North. [54162/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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My Department works with the Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland in the overall management of the PEACE III and INTERREG IVA Programmes and as co-sponsor Departments of the Special EU Programmes Body, which is responsible for the management and implementation of the Programmes.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance and Personnel are the Accountable Departments for Theme 2.1C Collaboration between Public Sector Bodies and provide funding for projects under this theme. The projects for which Letters of Offer have been accepted under Theme 2.1C are:

My Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel also jointly fund Priority 3.1 Technical Assistance for both the PEACE III and INTERREG IVA Programmes.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of the type and frequency of north south engagement his Department undertakes; his current priorities in this area; the number of whole time equivalent staff assigned to these matters; the grades involved and the amount of time each grade spends on north south activities as a proportion of their WTE employment; the coodination arrangements that have been put in place; if there are any current vacancies in north south cooperation units; the duration of these vacancies and the steps being taken to fill these vacancies. [54376/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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My officials and I are directly involved in ongoing and frequent North South engagement. Officials within my Department work closely with the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) in Northern Ireland as joint sponsor Departments of the Special EU Programmes Body, one of the North South implementation bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement. Officials also work closely with the Special EU Programmes Body and DFP with regard to the management and implementation of the EU co-funded cross border programmes, PEACE III and Interreg IVA. This work is undertaken within the framework of the North South Ministerial Council and I regularly meet with my Northern Ireland counterpart at the North South Ministerial Council in Special EU Programmes format to advance this work. My Department also works with DFP in other cross-cutting areas relating to the administration and governance of the North/South implementation bodies established under the British-Irish Agreement. I also attend the North South Ministerial Council when it meets in plenary format.

The current priorities in this area are the management and implementation of the PEACE III and Interreg IVA programmes and beginning the planning for the new round of funding for the 2014-2020 period. Responsibility for North South issues is located within my Department’s EU/North South Unit with 1 Principal Officer, 1 Assistant Principal Officer and 1 Higher Executive Officer specifically responsible for North South matters in a wider European funding context, with assistance and involvement of other officers as required on specific issues. There are no vacancies at present in the team.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has failed to meet any commitments to finances committed under the Peace Programme operated by the SEUPB [54400/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The PEACE III Programme is a cross-border Programme funded by the European Union and the Northern Irish and Irish Governments. The Programme has a total value of €333m. The Special EU Programmes Body is the Managing Authority for the Programme. The Irish Government has met all of its commitments under the PEACE III Programme. Peace projects range from small local projects to large capital build projects such as the €16.5m Peace Bridge over the River Foyle in Derry, completed in 2011, and the €20m Peace-building and Conflict Reconciliation centre for the Maze Long Kesh site approved in December 2011.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Special European Union Programmes Body measure 1.1 Regional has been oversubscribed; if so,the amount by which it has it been oversubscribed; if other measures have been similarly oversubscribed; the steps SEUPB are taking to ensure projects receive their full allocation as per SEUPB Steering Group decisions of 28 and 29 November 2011. [54548/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The PEACE III Programme is co-funded by the EU, Northern Ireland and Ireland and has a total allocation of €333m The Programme has been oversubscribed, reflecting the fact that the Programme is widely recognised as making a significant contribution to peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the border region of Ireland. As regards the level of programme over-commitment, the latest information is that Measure 1.1 is over-committed by €18.9m. Measure 2.1 has also been over-committed by €16.9m.

The Deputy may wish to note that the exchange rate can affect over-commitment. Projects for these themes were approved based on the available budget at the prevailing exchange rate at the time of the PEACE III Steering Committee. Subsequent changes in exchange rate have resulted in the value of approved projects exceeding the allocation. In addition, a degree of over-commitment is not unusual in an EU co-funded Programme of this type and size. To ensure that an EU co-funded Programme achieves full expenditure, a certain level of over-commitment is considered prudent to balance that fact that some projects will not spend their full allocation. The Special EU Programmes Body is the Managing Authority for the PEACE III Programme. SEUPB is working with Government Departments North & South to deal with this issue.