Monitoring Committees

The EU Structural Funds have regulations that say each EU Member State that receives funding must also set up a Monitoring Committee. The Committee will oversee the strategic implementation of the funding programme.

In Northern Ireland the need and use of the Structural Funds is described in a Community Support Frame (CSF) which is implemented through two Operational Programmes - Peace II and Building Sustainable Prosperity (BSP).

Three Monitoring Committees deal with the Transitional Objective 1 funds.

1. Community Support Framework (CSF)
2. Peace II
3. Building Sustainable Prosperity (BSP).

In addition, each Community Initiative has a Monitoring Committee:

1. Interreg IIIA
2. Leader+
3. URBAN.

Monitoring Committee Duties

• Review progress towards achieving the specific objectives of the Programme.
• Examine the results, particularly the achievement of targets set and the outcome of the Mid-term Evaluation.
• Consider and approve any proposal to amend the contents of the Commission decision (establishing the Programme) and to consider and approve the annual and final implementation reports of the Operational Programme before they are sent to the Commission.

Membership Structure

Members were initially appointed by the NI Executive and are drawn from:

• equality organisations
• environmental bodies
• voluntary and community sector
• the social partners - business, agriculture, rural development and fisheries, trade unions and district councils
• paying authorities ie the specific government departments responsible to the European Commission for accounting for the expenditure of funding
• European Commission (advisory role only)
• government departments (advisory role only).

Voluntary and Community Sector Representation

Representatives of the sector are asked to feedback to their colleagues via the European Programmes Advisory Group (EPAG) which meets regularly at NICVA.

Representatives on Monitoring Committee

• CSF - Seamus McAleavey, NICVA
• BSP - Frances McCandless, NICVA
• Peace II - Anne O' Reilly. NICVA Chair
• EQUAL - Maureen Piggot. As above
• URBAN II - Paula Reynolds and Stephen Nicholl. As above.
• LEADER+ - Niall Fitzduff. RCN
• INTERREG IIIA - Vacant.

Monitoring Committee Working Groups

• Mid-term Evaluation Steering Group for CSF/BSP - Frances McCandless, NICVA
• Mid-term Evaluation Steering Group for Peace II - Vacant
• Mid-term Evaluation Steering Group for URBAN II - Paula Reynolds, NICVA
• Communication and Information Working Group - Vacant
• Mainstreaming Equality Working Group - Frances McCandless, NICVA
• Information Society Working Group - Seamus McAleavey, NICVA
• Human Resources Working Group - Una McKernan, NICVA
• Environment Working Group - Vacant.