The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, is in Belfast today (Monday) where he will have a number of meetings.
The Minister will have a round table meeting with sectoral and business representatives including from Retail NI, the Confederation of British Industries, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Manufacturing NI to discuss their concerns and plans for Brexit. Minister Donohoe will also address the NI Chamber of Commerce.
Following this, Minister Donohoe will visit a PEACE-funded project: Journeys. The PEACE and INTERREG programmes are managed by the Special EU Programmes Body – one of the North South bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement. While there the Minister will meet with young people from diverse communities across Belfast, Cavan and Monaghan, who have been disadvantaged, excluded or marginalised and are now engaged in the programme.
Speaking from Belfast, Minister Donohoe said: ‘My visit to Belfast is an important opportunity to engage with stakeholders in Northern Ireland in relation to their concerns on Brexit, as well as to set out the Government’s ongoing work to prepare for the departure of the UK from the European Union’.
“It is also a valuable chance for me to witness again at first-hand how EU funding under the PEACE IV programme is being utilised and maximised to the benefit of those who need it most. I am pleased that the European Commission has now proposed a special new PEACE PLUS programme to build on and continue the work of successive PEACE and INTERREG programmes post-2020.”
ENDS