Peace III
Finance and Personnel
3:15 pm
Sammy Douglas (DUP)
4. asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline the progress, including the spend, on the Special EU Programmes Body Peace III programme. (AQO 2004/11-15)
Sammy Wilson (DUP)
The Peace III programme is progressing well and is almost fully committed, with 158 projects worth £284·2 million approved. That represents 98% of the total programme budget. Peace III has achieved all its annual expenditure targets to date. As of 1 May 2012, expenditure of £109·8 million had been achieved.
Sammy Douglas (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. I am sure that he will agree that the Peace funding programmes have made a significant contribution to peace-building, in Northern Ireland and the border counties. How would a potential Peace IV programme be developed?
Sammy Wilson (DUP)
Like all the other Peace programmes, it will be developed as a result of public consultation, written submissions and research. The principal concerns in that consultation will be, first, to identify the current peace-building needs. Secondly, there will be a critical look at Peace III and earlier Peace programmes to see where the deficiencies were. Then, of course, there will be the development stage of future programmes based on the evidence obtained. That will be undertaken by the steering groups associated to and led by SEUPB.
Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice)
Will the Minister tell us something of the cost of running the SEUPB itself, given its lavish offices and bloated staff complement? In respect of a Peace IV programme, would the Minister agree that it would be far better to spend the match funding that would be demanded for such an unnecessary project on direct spending, and that if we did not have a Peace IV programme, he would have more funds to spend, which would otherwise be going on match funding?
Sammy Wilson (DUP)
On the exact costs of the SEUPB, I cannot give him the figure off the top of my head, although I can say two things to him. First, we have insisted, and the Minister in the Irish Republic has agreed with me on this, that — [Interruption.] In fact, he is just ringing me here, I think, Mr speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in..." class="glossary">Deputy Speaker to confirm that — [Laughter.] I will try to pass that off quickly.
We have agreed that there should be 3% efficiency savings year on year within the SEUPB. This year there will also be a staff review within the SEUPB. It is my view that the current level of 65 staff should be reduced substantially to the original level of, I think, 45. That staff review will be ongoing.
As far as any future Peace money is concerned, I do not think that there is the connect that the Member suggested because it would, of course, depend upon what money Westminster then made available to us for direct spend in Northern Ireland. There is no guarantee, of course, given the current climate, that the money that would have gone to Europe — because that is what happens: the UK Government put money into Europe and Europe then gives it back to us — would have come to Northern Ireland.
Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin)
Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle, agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a fhreagra go dtí seo.I thank the Minister for the answers to date. The Minister will be aware that it is no secret that I support the Narrow Water bridge. Will the Minister confirm that he is aware that Louth County Council has initiated an appeal of a recent decision in relation to that? We are awaiting the outcome of the appeal and I would welcome an update.
Sammy Wilson (DUP)
I am aware that 13 projects were accepted under the most recent INTERREG call, that the Narrow Water bridge was not successful in that and that an appeal has been made. A number of factors were considered when making a decision on the successful projects, which have now been shortlisted down to the 13. One of the factors would have been the deliverability and the ability to spend the money within the time. Regardless of all of the other merits or demerits of the project that the Member mentioned, I think that one of the factors concerned whether the money could be spent within the time. That is critical, because the one thing we do not want to do is allocate money to a project and find that it cannot be spent.