Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 October 2019
164. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if an investment package will be sought from the European Commission and additionally funded by the British and Irish Governments for the north-west city region of counties Donegal, Derry and west Tyrone in a post-Brexit scenario. [43523/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe border region of Ireland currently benefits from two EU-funded 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 programmes and to a successor programme post-2020. 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 programmes and to examine favourably the possibilities for future programmes.
I am pleased, therefore, that the draft Withdrawal Agreement would enable the two programmes to be completed without interruption or amendment. I am also pleased that, in the event of no agreement, the EU has adopted a special regulation to allow their continuation even in the event of a disorderly Brexit. This will provide confidence for those benefitting from the programmes that this important element of North South cooperation will continue to be financed from the EU budget, under current management structures and with funding levels unchanged, until the end of 2020.
As regards a future programme, the European Commission has 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 into the future.
This proposal builds on the commitment in the draft Withdrawal Agreement by both the EU and the UK to a future programme post-Brexit, 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.
