Martin Ferris
Ceist:67 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Finance if the Government is planning to apply to the European Commission for a PEACE III programme to promote national reconciliation and conflict resolution. [24018/03]
Written Answers. - EU Funding.
The existing EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation – known as PEACE II – is a unique EU funded programme for all Northern Ireland and the Border region – the six counties of Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan, and Sligo.
PEACE II aims to help Northern Ireland become a peaceful and stable society and to promote reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border region. The programme runs from 2000 to 2004 and will provide around €707 million for projects, of which €141 million will be spent in the Border region. The EU contribution is €531 million. The programme represents a continuation of PEACE I that covered the period 1995 to 1999 to which the EU contributed €500 million.
The financial support provided by PEACE I and PEACE II has been of enormous benefit in underpinning the peace process in Ireland. Indeed, the PEACE programmes and the Good Friday Agreement share the same core principles of partnership, inclusion and cross-Border co-operation. The many projects supported by the PEACE programmes are a practical and tangible expression of the peace dividend at grass-roots level, and this both helps to reinforce the message we are trying to get across and create a supportive backdrop for the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Looking to the future, I believe that PEACE, with its bottom-up approach and its focus of peace-building and reconciliation, will continue to have a key role to play.
My Department, in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of the Taoiseach, is considering the options available with regard to the follow-up to PEACE II.