Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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429. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when letters of offer for the funding programmes PEACE IV and INTERREG VA for 2014 to 2020 will issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34912/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to advise the Deputy that agreement has now been reached between my officials and their Northern Ireland counterparts on the terms of Letters of Offer to programme beneficiaries for the PEACE IV and INTERREG VA programmes.

My objective has always been to Brexit-proof Letters of Offer to the greatest extent possible and to give programme beneficiaries assurance as to the legal and financial commitments they are entering into so they can plan for the future with confidence. I believe that we have achieved that, and that it will be possible to proceed with the full implementation of the programmes on a firmer basis than would otherwise have been the case.

The Special EU Programmes Body has begun the process of making Letters of Offer to programme beneficiaries, and I expect project announcements to commence shortly.