I am asking this question on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Niamh Smyth, who was delayed. The PEACE+ programme is crucial. It has delivered enormous achievements in the Border areas for many years. It has never been as needed as it is now in order to build infrastructure but, most important, to build confidence in the context of the Brexit vacuum and all that is associated with that. I am seeking an update on the current position of the programme and I ask the Minister to outline not just the expenditure, but the aims he and the Government seek from it.

I welcome Deputies Calleary and Niamh Smyth raising this really important question for Northern Ireland and, indeed, the Border counties of Ireland as well. PEACE+ is a special new cross-Border EU co-operation programme which will combine the existing PEACE and INTERREG funding streams into one cohesive new programme for the 2021-27 period. The programme area covers Northern Ireland and counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo. There is also scope for co-operation outside the programme area.

The programme development process is being led by the special EU programmes body, SEUPB, which is a North-South implementation body jointly sponsored by my Department and the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. A cross-sectoral programme development steering group, consisting of representatives of central and local government, as well as business, trade union, rural, equality, environment and community and voluntary sector groups, is supporting the development work of the SEUPB.

Since 2019, the SEUPB has been working closely with a wide range of stakeholders and Government Departments, North and South, to identify and develop areas of potential cross-Border co-operation for the new programme. This included an initial public consultation between December 2019 and February 2020, with 16 public events across the region attended by 1,000 people, while 320 written submissions were received.

I am pleased to report that programme development for PEACE+ is now at a very advanced stage. The SEUPB has developed a draft programme with six themes which aim to foster peace and prosperity in the region. The draft programme is based on an indicative budget of €1 billion.

A further public consultation on this draft programme opened in March and will remain open to submissions until 12 May. I am encouraging all interested stakeholders to make their views on the draft programme known during this consultation period.

This is a very important programme and it is essential that the Minister's Department engages with all other Departments in publicising the consultation period and publicising and encouraging community involvement in the consultation. I ask the Minister to provide a breakdown of the various cohorts from which the €1 billion funding is coming. Will there be co-operation between the PEACE+ programme and the ambition of the Taoiseach's shared island unit in the context of its capital expenditure? I ask the Minister to focus on the key themes of peaceful and thriving communities, economic regeneration and transformation, empowering and investing in young people, healthy and inclusive communities and supporting a sustainable future. I ask him to focus in particular on the involvement of young people as they are the ones paying the biggest price for Brexit.

I thank the Deputy for raising those questions. To add to my earlier remarks, following the consultation that is currently ongoing and any necessary revisions to the draft programme that may arise from it, the final PEACE+ programme will be bought to the Government and to the Northern Ireland Executive for approval. The draft programme will subsequently be submitted to the European Commission for final approval later in 2021. I have already had several engagements with Conor Murphy, the Minister of Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive, on this issue.

The funding is provided by the Government, the UK Government and the European Union. We are confident at this point of a total envelope of in the region of €1 billion.

There are six themes in the draft programme: building peaceful and thriving communities; delivering economic regeneration and transformation; empowering and investing in young people - I thank the Deputy for highlighting the need for that aspect; healthy and inclusive communities; supporting a sustainable future; and building and embedding partnership and collaboration.

I ask the Minister to focus specifically on the role of young people in the new programme. How can they become more involved in the consultation process that is under way? We have seen in recent weeks the alienation of young people from the political process. This programme is something in which we need them to get involved. We should make it as accessible as possible to younger communities across Northern Ireland and within the Border counties.

The points raised by the Deputy are really well made. I have been briefed on several of the projects that have already been undertaken under the current PEACE and INTERREG programmes. They are inspiring and I am looking forward to visiting several of these programmes in person as soon as the public health restrictions allow.

It is absolutely appropriate that one of the key themes in the draft programme is about empowering and investing in young people. Such a commitment from the Irish Government, the UK Government and the European Union is absolutely necessary and has never been more needed than it is now. I will take on board the points made by the Deputy to ensure that the voice of young people in Northern Ireland and the Border counties is heard as we finalise the plan for the new, ambitious and really exciting PEACE+ programme.