Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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260. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has conducted an up to date assessment of the impact that the uncertainty regarding Brexit will have on PEACE funds which are an important investment in Border areas, both north and south; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34321/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I fully appreciate the uncertainty that Brexit has caused not just for the PEACE programme but also for INTERREG.  For that reason I am committed to the successful implementation of the current programmes and to successor programmes post-2020.

I was pleased, therefore, to be able to announce last October that agreement had been reached between my Department and the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland on a safeguard clause to Brexit proof funding agreements with programme beneficiaries. 

Now that that short term objective has been achieved, my medium term objective is to ensure successful implementation of the current programmes out to 2020, through a period during which the UK is expected to leave the EU.  My longer term objective is secure agreement for successor programmes post-2020.  Work is underway in my Department to address these medium and long term objectives.