Gilmore ‘confident’ over EU peace fund

The Government, as part of its presidency of the European Union, is pressing for agreement on a €150 million additional peace package for Northern Ireland, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said in Belfast yesterday.

He met Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers, who made clear that a separate British government economic package to assist Northern Ireland would hinge on the Northern Executive formulating a strategy to tackle division and sectarianism.

Mr Gilmore was in Belfast for a number of engagements including, with Ms Villiers, addressing students on the 15th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement at the new Mac theatre in the Cathedral Quarter of the city. They also travelled the five miles to Stormont for a quadrilateral meeting with First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

At the Mac and at Stormont Castle Mr Gilmore said the Government was focusing on achieving a €150 million Peace IV package for Northern Ireland and the Border counties during its current presidency of the EU which ends in June.

Support for package
Mr Gilmore said heads of government in the EU supported the package and it was now a matter of obtaining the agreement of the European Parliament. "I am confident that we will be able to conclude the budget which will include €150 million for Northern Ireland to go to supporting efforts to deepen the peace process, building reconciliation and improving the economy of Northern Ireland, and it will be to the advantage of people in the North and South of the island," he added.

The Northern Executive is also waiting for details of a separate package from the British government aimed at boosting the economy. In recent months the Executive has faltered in its attempts to agree a strategy to combat sectarianism, the so-called cohesion, sharing and integration project.

The failure to reach agreement appears to be linked to divisions between the main parties and also a deterioration in the relationship between Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness as a result of the flags controversy – although in the past week that relationship has markedly improved.

Ms Villiers made clear there would be a link between creating a policy on a shared future and the amount of the package. “The greater the Executive’s ambition the more the UK government will be able to help,” she said. She added that relations between the British and Irish governments had “never been better”, with the Tánaiste saying, “The Irish Government has no better or stronger relationship than we do with the Northern Ireland Executive.”

First Minister Mr Robinson said that over many weeks he and Mr McGuinness had been involved in intensive discussions about a wide range of issues including the economy and creating a shared future for everyone in Northern Ireland.