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