Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 November 2021
130. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the plans that are in place with allocating the €50 million under the Peace Plus to skills development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58613/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe new draft PEACE PLUS programme, which has been approved by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive through the North-South Ministerial Council, includes for the first time a provision for the delivery of skills initiatives on a cross-border basis. While final approval is awaited must be secured from the Commission, a provision of €50m has been set aside to fund actions in the skills area.
Once this approval has been secured, education and training providers will be invited to respond to a series of Calls for Proposals from the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) to deliver on proposed actions. While no timescale has been established by SEUPB, it is likely that such Calls for Proposals will issue in Q4 2022 or Q1 2023.
The types of actions which would be in scope for funding on a cross-border basis include the provision of skills programmes in critical areas such as ICT, digital, green economy and entrepreneurship and delivery of programmes to support people in re-engaging with employment and upskilling.
The Special EU Programmes Body is currently finalising the submission of the draft programme to the EU Commission for approval. It is likely that this stage will conclude in the first half of next year, with calls for proposals to be issued later in 2022/ early 2023.
