Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on recent developments in relation to the 2021-2027 PEACE PLUS EU Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55861/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to report that the new PEACE PLUS programme is now at an advanced stage of development and has passed a number of significant milestones in recent weeks.

This major new cross-border EU programme was proposed by the European Commission in 2018, in a strong signal of its continued support for peace and reconciliation and for North South cooperation on the island of Ireland. PEACE PLUS will succeed the previous INTERREG and PEACE programmes by combining these funding streams into one cohesive new programme covering an eligible area of Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland – i.e. Counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo.

Programme development has been led by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a North South Implementation Body under the joint sponsorship of my Department and the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. The SEUPB has conducted extensive stakeholder consultation in order to produce a draft programme based on six thematic investment areas:

- Building Peaceful and Thriving Communities;

- Delivering Economic Regeneration and Transformation;

- Empowering and Investing in our Young People;

- Healthy and Inclusive Communities;

- Supporting a Sustainable Future;

- Building and Embedding Partnership and Collaboration.

Full details on the draft programme and these investment areas are available at www.seupb.eu/peaceplus, and I encourage all interested stakeholders to visit and learn more about this exciting new programme.

The PEACE PLUS programme is expected to have a total value of over €1.1bn. This is more than twice the value of the current cross-border INTERREG and PEACE programmes combined, and reflects the scale and ambition of the PEACE PLUS programme. A formal Financing Agreement to underpin the programme is being finalised between the EU, the UK and Ireland.

I am pleased to note that the draft programme was approved by Government on 7 October last, by the Northern Ireland Executive on 13 October and by the North South Ministerial Council on 14 October.

The draft programme will be submitted shortly to the European Commission for its consideration and final approval. This will allow for a formal launch of PEACE PLUS during 2022, with a view to the first funding approvals taking place later that year.