Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when details will be available in relation to the provision of skills on a cross-Border basis with financial support from the PEACE PLUS Programme; if such a programme will commence in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58648/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The new draft PEACE PLUS programme, which has been approved by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive through the North-South Ministerial Council, includes for the first time a provision for the delivery of skills initiatives on a cross-border basis. While final approval is awaited must be secured from the Commission, a provision of €50m has been set aside.

Once this approval has been secured, education and training providers will be invited to respond to a series of Calls for Proposals from the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) to deliver on proposed actions. While no timescale has been established by SEUPB, it is likely that such Calls for Proposals will issue in Q4 2022 or Q1 2023.