Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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100. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will outline Peace Plus projects that his Department has committed funding to; the projects underway to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26300/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The PEACEPLUS programme has a total value of €1.1 billion and is funding projects across Northern Ireland and the border region counties of Ireland, until 2029. PEACEPLUS is co-funded by the Irish Government, the European Commission, the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The programme is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), one of the North-South Bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement and all information regarding applying for funding, current funding opportunities, guidance for funded projects and latest funding announcements can be found on their website www.seupb.eu/ .

My Department of Rural and Community Development does not allocate PEACEPLUS funding to individual projects, unlike other schemes administered by the Department. As an Accountable Department, we are committed to providing 26% co-funding for eight of the 22 investment areas, totalling €96m in exchequer financing over the lifetime of the programme. The Department’s net contribution, post recoupment of ERDF amounts, will be €19.2 million.

Grants are awarded by the SEUPB following an agreed assessment process. As of 8 May 2025, 98 projects have been awarded PEACEPLUS funding to the value of €894 million, representing around 84% of the total programme value. PEACEPLUS is funding regional development projects across a diverse range of investment areas, including skills, education, transport, and socio-economic regeneration. This funding will benefit people right across the programme area and the structure of the programme means that there are multiple opportunities to benefit from PEACEPLUS.

I would also like to draw attention to the Change Maker Funding element of PEACEPLUS. These grants are geared towards smaller organisations and will provide grants of between €10,000 and €100,000 to cross-border or cross-community projects. The Change Maker Funding programme was launched recently and will be open on a rolling basis. I would urge community groups to consider applying for Change Maker grant funding.

More information on the Change Maker Programme and other current PEACEPUS funding opportunities is available at the following link www.seupb.eu/peaceplus/current-funding-opportunities