Brendan Smith
Question:237. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the likely timeline for the roll-out of the PEACE PLUS Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17348/22]
View answerThursday, 31 March 2022
Questions (237)
Written answers
The new PEACE PLUS cross-border EU programme is now at a very advanced point of development and will be formally launched later this year.
Development of the new programme was led by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), working closely with my Department and the Department of Finance NI, together with a cross-border and cross-sectoral Programme Development Steering Group. The draft PEACE PLUS programme was approved by Government as well as by the Northern Ireland Executive and the North South Ministerial Council in the autumn of 2021.
The draft programme is now in the process of submission to the European Commission for its final review and approval. The approval and adoption process is expected to conclude in summer 2022.
In parallel, SEUPB is preparing for the first Calls for Applications, and is already providing pre-application support for potential applicants for some Investment Areas, including Investment Areas 1.1 (Local Authority Peace Action Plans) and 3.2 (PEACE PLUS Youth Programme). SEUPB is also preparing for the initial Programme Monitoring Committee meeting for PEACE PLUS in summer 2022. The Programme Monitoring Committee will be asked to approve the first tranche of Calls for Applications documents, as well as other programme rules and processes, to allow for the beginning of programme mobilisation.