I propose to take Questions Nos. 72, 80 and 83 together.
Ireland and the UK are currently partners in two EU-funded cross-border Cooperation Programmes – PEACE and INTERREG – with a total value of €550 million over the period 2014-2020.
These programmes are 85% funded by the EU through the European Regional Development Fund under the European Union's Cohesion Policy.
The two programmes are important drivers of regional development in a cross-border context. Through EU-funded cooperation, a range of organisations, North and South, have engaged in and benefited from a variety of cross-border and cross-community projects.
The Irish Government has been clear and consistent about its commitment to the successful implementation of the current PEACE and INTERREG programmes and to a successor programme post-2020, and my officials and I have been working to ensure that this important source of funding for the border region continues post-Brexit.
As far back as December 2017 both the EU and UK undertook to honour their commitments to the current PEACE and INTERREG programmes and to examine favourably the possibilities for future programmes.
I was pleased, therefore, that last May the European Commission responded to the Irish Government’s support for a future programme with a proposal for a special new PEACE PLUS programme that will build on and continue the work of PEACE and INTERREG.
I welcome the inclusion in the draft Withdrawal Agreement of a commitment by both parties to the completion of the current programmes and to a future programme post-2020, a commitment that is carried through to the draft Political Declaration setting out the Framework for the Future Relationship between the EU and the UK.
I also welcome the Commission's more recent proposal for a Regulation that will enable the current programmes to continue even in the event of no-deal.