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Finance Minister, Conor Murphy has welcomed the European Commission’s adoption of the cross-border peace and reconciliation programme – Peace Plus.
The new £1 billion programme will be delivered by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). PEACE PLUS was previously agreed by the Executive, the Irish Government and North South Ministerial Council, it is the biggest PEACE programme to date and is funded by the UK Government and the EU with match funding from the Executive and Irish Government.
Commenting, Minister Murphy said: “It is very welcome news that the PEACE PLUS programme has been adopted by the European Commission. This £1 billion funding will be welcomed particularly by those in Border communities and those impacted most adversely by chronic economic and social deprivation. It will build upon the success of previous PEACE programmes and provide much needed support for essential social, economic, cultural and environmental activities while also providing significant infrastructure investment.
“I’m hopeful that the British and Irish governments will soon conclude final administrative arrangements with the European Commission to allow this programme to open as soon as possible.”
The Five Themes
Theme 1 – Building Peaceful and Thriving Communities
Theme 2 – Delivering Economic Regeneration and Transformation
Theme 3 – Empowering and Investing in Young People
Theme 4 – Healthy and Inclusive Communities
Theme 5 – Supporting a Sustainable and Better Connected Future
Theme 6 – Building and Embedding Partnership and Collaboration
Louth Meeting
Louth County Council held their first PEACEPLUS Partnership meeting today, 14 July.
Building upon the work of the previous PEACE and INTERREG Programmes, the aim of the initial meeting was to introduce the partnership and explore each role in the co-design of the PEACEPLUS Action Plan, which will be based on the following themes:
- Local community regeneration and transformation
- Thriving and peaceful communities
- Celebrating cultures and diversity
This council-led partnership will provide opportunities to develop local projects across these various areas.
Grainne Flanagan, Acting Administrative Officer, Louth County Council, said: “We look forward to meeting with the Partnership and co-designing an action plan that can further promote peace between our border communities and have a long-lasting positive impact on our communities.”
