Press release
Minister McGrath visits EU funded projects in Belfast
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, today (Wednesday), visited a number of projects in Belfast funded by the EU's PEACE IV cross-border programme.
Minister McGrath met representatives and beneficiaries from five different PEACE IV projects to hear first-hand their experience of participation in the programme.
Amongst these was the Peace Bytes project, a cross-border and cross-community initiative which is engaging with young people aged 14-24 from areas with high levels of deprivation and who are at risk of paramilitary influence. Minister McGrath also met with participants from the Peace and Conflict Transformation (PACT) project. PACT is promoting peace and reconciliation for women in Northern Ireland and the border region of Ireland by providing innovative training.
In total, the EU’s 2014-20 PEACE IV programme is investing some €270 million in support of 33 projects across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. A further €283 million is being invested by the EU's 2014 - 20 INTERREG VA programme.
Minister McGrath was hosted by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), the North South Implementation Body responsible for developing and managing EU cross-border programmes. At a lunchtime briefing session in the SEUPB’s Belfast headquarters, Minister McGrath was able to thank staff for their work and received an update from senior management on the current PEACE IV and INTERREG VA programmes as well as the development of the new €1.1 billion PEACE PLUS cross-border EU programme.
Commenting following the visit, Minister McGrath said:
“As Minister with responsibility in Ireland for cross-border EU programmes, I am delighted to have finally had the opportunity to come to Belfast and see at ground level the impact of this investment on the ground. I am deeply impressed by the work being done under our PEACE IV programme. The value of this funding was very clear from my conversations today with project beneficiaries – it is literally life-changing in many cases.
“I was also pleased to have the opportunity to thank the staff of the Special EU Programmes Body for the work they do and to hear an update from them on the new PEACE PLUS programme, which we look forward to launching later this year. The major investment of over €1 billion which PEACE PLUS will bring will allow for the excellent work of the PEACE and INTERREG programmes to be continued over the 2021-27 period."