More than €2 million EU PEACEPLUS funding secured for cross border fire and rescue project
- Published on: 10 November 2025
- Last updated on: 14 November 2025
The National Directorate of Fire and Emergency Management working in partnership with Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), South West College (SWC) and Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education & Training Board (MSLETB), has secured over €2 million (£1.8 million) from PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
The investment is a major cross border project aimed at strengthening emergency preparedness, mutual aid and interoperability between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Known as the TACTICS Project (Training Across Communities for Tactical Interoperability for Cross-Border Safety), the investment will enhance cross-border cooperation in emergency response, enhance interoperability between fire and rescue services, and build community resilience with a particular focus in the border areas. The project will bring together Firefighters and emergency personnel from both jurisdictions for shared training, joint exercises, and specialist development programmes.
NIFRS Learning and Development College in Cookstown will act as the central training hub as part of the project providing state-of-the-art facilities for urban search and rescue (USAR), high volume pumping (HVP), multi-agency training, and large-scale simulation exercises.
NDFEM sits within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne welcomed the funding announcement.
Minister Browne said:
“This project will ensure that public and firefighter safety is at the heart of planning, preparedness and response mechanisms on the island of Ireland. This is critical to success over the next three years.
“€2.05 million from PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is an essential and timely injection of support where it is badly needed, to upskill our dedicated front line service teams and to boost our collaboration.
“Emergencies and weather-generated issues on the ground can happen in any county at any time. This fund reflects the need to act as a team to respond.
“I would like to thank SEUPB and all involved in this joint proposal between the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management and our colleagues in Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.”
Director of the National Directorate and Fire and Emergency Management Keith Leonard said:
“This announcement is the culmination of a huge amount of work between fire services in both jurisdictions. We look forward to the capacity and the all-island approach that this will bring for the fire services. It will mean that both fire services will operate the same processes and procedures in terms of urban search and rescue increasing the speed and efficiency of operation. For wider and more general type of emergencies, this cross-border engagement will strengthen operational integration and emergency preparedness.”
NIFRS Chief Fire and Rescue Officer Aidan Jennings said:
“This PEACEPLUS project will enhance the capability and resilience of border fire and rescue services, building upon the strong cooperation that already exists. The core of this project is about enhancing Firefighter and public safety by building shared capacity to respond to emergencies and help build safer more resilient communities.
“Tragic incidents such as Cresslough, fatal house fires and road traffic collisions in border areas, combined with the rising frequency of severe weather, flooding and wildfires, reinforce the need for a strategic approach and investment to joint agency interoperability, training, mutual aid and the development of new advisory and governance structures. This is a few of many deliverables from this project. The project embodies the spirit of the PEACEPLUS programme by fostering collaboration, understanding, and long-term resilience through shared public service.
“At the heart of the delivery of this project is our new Learning and Development College. It will build upon the training that is already taking place with our cross-border colleges and fostering further opportunities for collaboration.
“I would like to thank the Special EU Programmes Body for its investment and acknowledge the work of all of the partners involved in securing this funding. We look forward to the delivery of this unique initiative over the next 3 years and to the multiple benefits it will bring to help keep people safe long into the future.”
Further information
The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is a North South Body with the statutory remit for managing EU funding programmes within Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.
PEACEPLUS is a cross-border funding Programme designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland and has a total value of €1.14 billion, to be delivered over the next four years.
PEACEPLUS is co-funded by the European Union, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Executive.
The TACTICS Project will run until 2027, supporting joint training, shared learning, and enhanced mutual aid readiness between NIFRS and NDFEM. The project embodies the spirit of the PEACEPLUS programme by fostering collaboration, understanding, and long-term resilience through shared public service.
NIFRS is the lead partner in the first of its kind initiative, working alongside project partners:
Core Project Partners
- NIFRS – Lead partner
- NDFEM (National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management, Ireland)
- South West College (SWC), NI
- Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education & Training Board (MSLETB), Ireland
Associated Partners (indicative roles mainly advisory / participation)
- 10 Irish Fire Authorities: Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Laois
- ROIFRS
- Fermanagh & Omagh District Council
NB. The Cross Border Emergency Management Group also successfully applied for funding under investment area 6.1 and will be delivering a project entitled 'Resilient Neighbours'. Fermanagh & Omagh District Council will represent the Cross Border Emergency Management Group on the TACTICS Advisory Board (which will meet bi-monthly). This project will enhance cross-project synergies and build on the work already been conducted in the area of emergency planning.