Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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236. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the €2.9 million allocated to the PEACE programme as outlined in budget 2018; the amount that has been spent; the way in which the money has been spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27255/18]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Peace and Reconciliation 2014-2020 (PEACE IV) is a cross-border programme co-financed through the European Union's European Regional Development Fund.  It supports peace and reconciliation through actions that promote social and economic stability in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo).  The programme is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) on behalf of the Irish and UK Governments.

My Department is an Accountable Department under the programme and provides funding under three themes - Shared Spaces and Services, Building Positive Relations, and Children and Young People.  My Department's primary role in implementing the programme and developing projects is as an advisor on the PEACE IV Steering Committee, together with other relevant Departments from Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The total value of the current PEACE programme is €270m.  Some €229m (85%) will be provided by the EU, with the remaining €41m provided by the Irish (€9m) and UK (€32m) Governments.  My Department will provide around €3.7m towards the implementation of local authority action plans and regional projects in 2018.

Some €1.3m has been provided by my Department to date in 2018, with details of the funding provided per theme set out in the following table.  I expect a full drawdown of funding by the SEUPB by year-end.