Ministers welcome Peace III consultation

People in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of Ireland are being asked for suggestions on how some €300 million of new EU funding should be spent.

This is the amount that will be available over the next seven years under the new European PEACE III Programme, the third in a series of special, EU-funded, peace and reconciliation initiatives to complement the peace process.

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) will carry out the public consultation on behalf of the two Governments over a 12-week period ending on 3 April 2007. Everyone with an interest in the new programme is being encouraged to participate and make their views known.

Finance Minister, David Hanson, welcomed the start of the consultation.

"This is a one-off chance for everyone to have their say on how this unique EU funding-some €300 million--will be spent over the next seven years. The two previous EU PEACE Programmes assisted projects throughout Northern Ireland and the Border Counties and all communities benefited considerably from the funding available.

"PEACE III has the potential to build upon this achievement, particularly if its priorities and actions are fully informed by public consultation. That is why it is vital that everyone with an opinion on how PEACE money should be spent uses the consultation process to get that opinion across."

Irish Finance Minister, Brian Cowen, said: "We are fortunate in having this third PEACE Programme. EU PEACE funding, which began some 12 years ago, was always intended as special and time-limited. But because our European partners have recognised the long-term nature of the peace-building process, we can now look forward to seven more years of PEACE funding.

"That is no small achievement when you consider that 12 new member states have joined the EU in the last three years, including Bulgaria and Romania this month, and that most of these new member states are, like us, in the middle of significant political and economic change."

Both Ministers encouraged all groups and individuals with an interest in the new Programme to submit their views on the proposals.

Full details on participation, including the principal consultation texts, are available from the SEUPB website: www.seupb.org.