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Gina McIntyre
Chief Executive
Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB)
16th November 2017
Cross border cooperation between the
Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
– past, present and future
The origins of the SEUPB
• Ceasefires 1994, All Party talks led to the
signing of the Good Friday Agreement/
Belfast 1998.
• Devolved powers to Northern Ireland and:
Strand One - Institutions in Northern Ireland
Strand Two - North/South Cooperation
Strand Three - East/West, British/Irish Council
• British- Irish Agreement Act 1999
• Manage cross-border EU Structural Funds in
Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland, and
Western Scotland:
– The EU’s Programme for Peace and
Reconciliation (PEACE); and
– The EU’s Cross-Border Programme for
Territorial Cooperation (INTERREG A).
• Facilitates project participation in the INTERREG VB
Transnational, and INTERREG VC Interregional
Programmes.
• Advising member states on future EU Programmes.
Role of the
SEUPB
• SEUPB - long history of providing opportunities for
cross-border participation and dialogue through
PEACE & INTERREG Programmes (2000-2013).
• EU Programmes have:
o Improved cross-border public sector
collaboration;
o Developed cross-border reconciliation and
understanding;
o Promoted joint approaches to social
education, training and human resource
development.
Cross-Border
Impact
• Since 2007 SEUPB has managed funding to
projects of cross-border benefit in a wide-
range of sectors:
o Enterprise & Tourism
o Health & Social Care
o Public Sector Collaboration
o Rural Development
o Energy & Environment
o Roads & Transport
o Telecommunications
Cross-Border
Impact
PEACE Programmes - EU’s positive response to the
Northern Ireland peace process. Unique Programme
across all member states.
• PEACE I (1995) – Addressed the immediate
legacy of the conflict.
• PEACE II (2000) – Reinforced progress through
economic development and cross-border co-
operation.
• PEACE III (2007) – Reinforcing progress by
promoting reconciliation.
• PEACE IV (2014) – Renewed focus on children
and young people.
History of the PEACE
Programme
• PEACE I – III (1995-2013) total
investment of €1.99 billion.
• Supported hundreds of thousands of
projects to promote peace and
stability within the region.
• PEACE III some examples:
o 6,999 receive trauma counselling,
o 189,007 attended anti-
sectarian/racism events,
o 25,429 attended conflict resolution
training.
PEACE: Cross-border Programme for
Border Region of Ireland and Northern
Ireland.
Previous PEACE
Programmes
Notable Projects Funded Under
PEACE III
• Peace Bridge, Derry/Londonderry
• A £14.6m PEACE III funded iconic
foot and cycle-bridge, joining the
city physically and promoting
interaction and cross-community
engagement among communities.
• It has also brought back into public
use the former Ebrington military
barracks, thereby creating a new
shared space.
Notable Projects Funded Under
PEACE III
• Castle Saunderson International
Scout Centre. This €3.7m PEACE III
funded project has created a 30 acre
multi-activity adventure centre, just
outside Cavan. It includes fully
equipped indoor facilities as well as a
Jamboree site, capable of
accommodating up to 1,000 people at
any given time.
• Located between Cavan, Fermanagh
and Monaghan, the centre has been
designed to encourage greater levels of
interaction from young people from
different religious, ethnic and cultural
backgrounds.
Notable Projects Funded Under
PEACE III
• €1.2m PEACE III funding was used in
the creation of the first ever FabLab (a
small scale workshop offering digital
fabrication) to be brought to Northern
Ireland.
• The new FabLabs are located in Belfast
with the Ashton Community Trust and in
Derry-Londonderry with the Nerve
Centre.
PEACE LESSONS
• PEACE is not a cash solution.
• It needs repeating.
• It is part of a wider more complex process.
• Impact on developing and encouraging an inter-
generational, societal transformation.
• Focus on process of change most appropriate for
changing attitudes, divisions and prejudice.
• Key problems relating to the post conflict PEACE
regions is building relationships and changing
individuals.
PEACE LESSONS
• Must have the formal political process in a
post agreement arena.
• Various parallel processes from individual to
institutions.
• Programmes gave validation to work that
was required to promote social and political
re integration. Politically this was difficult to
accept
• Manage expectations from politicians and
public about what the Programme can
achieve.
PEACE IV Programme
Objectives & Outputs
Shared Education (€35.3m) – 350 schools and 144,000 school years to
provide direct, sustained curriculum-based contact.
Children & Young People (€54.7m) – support for 7,400 marginalised
young people aged 14-24 years to help them form positive relationships
with others of a different background.
Shared Spaces & Services (€70.5m) – 8 capital build projects to help create
a more cohesive society and provide support to 11,350 victims and survivors
of the conflict.
Building Positive Relations (€97.4m) – 17 Local Peace Plans and 20
regional level projects to promote positive cross-community relations,
respect and cultural diversity.
PEACE IV (2014-2020) total value of €270m
Notable PEACE IV Project
Examples
• Victims & Survivors Service - £13.4m to support up to 17,650 victims and
survivors and members of their families. Support includes provision of health
and wellbeing support to address the complex needs of victims and
survivors.
• Local Authority Action Plans - €81.2m has been made available to Local
Authorities across NI and the Border Region of Ireland. Each Local Authority
will deliver a ‘PEACE Action Plan’ focused on Children & Young People;
Shared Spaces and Services and Building Positive Relations.
• Youth Network for Peace Project - €1.1m worth of PEACE IV funding
offered to Youth Action NI for an initiative that will bring together 12 cross-
border youth organisations. This project will focus on the development of
good relations and peace-building skills for an estimated 10,000
participants.
• Youthscape Project - €4.0m of PEACE IV funding has been offered to the
South West College for an initiative that will deliver a high impact,
transformative programme to 800 disadvantaged young people aged 14-24.
• European Territorial Cooperation, better known
as INTERREG, aims to promote greater
territorial cohesion.
• INTERREG VA is one of 60 such programmes
across all 28 Member States.
• Created to support cross-border cooperation.
• INTERREG IA (1990-1993)
• INTERREG IIA (1994-1999)
• INTERREG IIIA (2000-2006)
• INTERREG IVA (2007-2013)
• INTERREG VA (2014-2020)
History of the INTERREG
Programmes
INTERREG IA – IVA (1991-2013) total
investment of €851m.
Supported tens of thousands of projects to
build a sustainable and prosperous cross-
border region.
INTERREG IVA examples:
o 3,552 businesses supported,
o 954 new jobs created,
o 121,741 beneficiaries in health, rural
development, enterprise and tourism.
Previous INTERREG
Programmes
INTERREG: Cross-border Programme for
Northern Ireland, Border Region of
Ireland and Western Scotland.
• North West Regional Science Park: €15m INTERREG IVA
funding was used to build the North West Regional Science
Park at Fort George in Derry-Londonderry. The Science Park
provides 50,000 square foot of flexible workspace on the
banks of the River Foyle.
• The Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable
Technologies (CREST) - The INTERREG IVA funded £1.5m
facility provides specialist education, training and R&D
support to help small and medium-sized firms compete in the
multi-billion pound renewable energy and sustainable
technologies sector.
• The Putting Patients First Project - €30m INTERREG IV
funding delivered 12 large scale projects. 53,000 project
beneficiaries and 121 new services implemented. 80% of
services being fully or partially mainstreamed.
Other Notable Projects Funded
Under INTERREG IVA
INTERREG VA Programme
Objectives & Outputs
Research & Innovation (€71.7m) – 514 yearsof PhD research, 1,408
enterprises receiving support to increase the number of SMEs engaged in
development of new products, processes and tradable services.
Environment (€84.6m) – 25 conservation action plans to protect natural
habitats and improved wastewater treatment to benefit over 10,000 people.
Sustainable Transport (€47m) – 80km of new cross-border greenways and
1 multi-modal hub to promote cross-border, sustainable mobility.
Health & Social Care (€62m) – Support for 4,000 socially isolated disabled
people and 12 cross-border health interventions for 15,000 beneficiaries to
improve the health and well-being of people across the region.
INTERREG VA (2014-2020) total value of €283m
Notable INTERREG V
Project Examples
• North West Transport Hub - Value: €23.5m. Project
will create a multi-modal transport hub for the North
West of the region. Increase in the number of cross
border daily commuters from 1,031 to 1,665 by 2023.
• Changing Lives Initiative - Value: €2.7m. The
project is aimed at families of children aged 3 to 7
with a pattern of behaviour consistent with ADHD.
Will benefit over 2,000 families in the eligible region.
• COMPASS Project - Value: € 6.3m. Funding will
create a state of the art network of buoys to
effectively track, model and monitor aquatic life and
oceanographic processes.
Benefits to the Entire Region
• Principles and practice of
partnerships, multi level politicians/
civil servants/ civil society/ business
• Transparent decision making/
governance structures and targets
• The mechanism of the Regional
Authorities to deliver at the local
level
• Programme content developed on a
consultative basis – visibly to the
citizen
Benefits to the Entire Region
• Cross – border work has become
mainstreamed – it just makes sense
• Built capacity and trust, culture of
cooperation
• Common problems and solutions – joint
ownership/mutual benefits, innovative
ways of working
• Link between economic and social
challenges – PEACE and INTERREG
complement each other
• Mind borders opened
Challenges
• Implementation of large scale and diverse programmes within a
complex political environment
• Finding the common denominator between regions for Programme
content with differing priorities and views
• Dealing with periods of Direct Rule, numerous elections and
changes in Ministers
• Cynical public voices
• High level of scrutiny from political parties regarding the balance of
funding allocation
• Perception became reality
• Ensuring those without capacity were given the opportunity, and
listening and understanding their difficulties
• The importance of the Partnership Principle became evident as
programme implementation continued
The Way Ahead…….
• The European Commission, Irish and UK Government
have all put Northern Ireland and border issues at the
top of their agenda.
• Each have re-affirmed their commitment to
safeguarding the PEACE process and the Good Friday
Agreement.
• All contracts for funding issued by the SEUPB to
projects under the current PEACE IV and INTERREG V
Programmes are guaranteed until 2023.
• There is no room for complacency.
Thank you