PEACEPLUS
What is PEACEPLUS?
PEACEPLUS (PP) is a new a €1.14bn European Union funding programme designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland, building upon the work of the previous PEACE and INTERREG Programmes.
The PEACEPLUS programme comprises six themes, which include 21 individual investment areas and approved by the NI Executive, Irish Government and North South Ministerial Council. County Councils will develop and deliver PEACEPLUS co-designed Action Plans under Theme 1 – Building Peaceful and Thriving Communities – Investment Area 1.1 - Co-designed Local Community PEACEPLUS Action Plans. €110m has been allocated to this theme across the 17 council areas in Northern Ireland and the six border counties.
Find out more about PEACEPLUS here
Leitrim PEACEPLUS Partnership
Leitrim PEACEPLUS Partnership oversees the design and implementation of a co-designed process in Leitrim. The Partnership worked with Leitrim County Council PEACE Team staff and consultants Blu Zebra to develop Leitrim PEACEPLUS Action Plan which was submitted to SEUPB in 2023.
PEACEPLUS Partnership is a sub-committee of Leitrim LCDC. All appointments to the Partnership were subject to LCDC approval & endorsed by Leitrim County Council through its Corporate Policy Group
Leitrim County Council act as Lead Partner and Chair of the Partnership. The Leitrim PEACEPLUS Partnership comprises of the following 4 Pillars:
Pillar 1: Elected Members (3) & Officials (2)
Pillar 2: Four Statutory Bodies - Department of Social Protection (vacant), HSE, Mayo Sligo Leitrim ETB & an Garda Síochána
Pillar 3: Social Partners - Leitrim Development Company, North Leitrim Women’s Centre, Youth/Foróige, & Good Energies Alliance Ireland/Environment
Pillar 4: Social Partners - Re Nua Le Cheile, Lakelands Elim Church, Leitrim International Community Group, Breffni Community Development/Disability Community & Church of Ireland
Pillars 3 & 4 were recruited through the Leitrim PPN Plenary process & an Open Call
The first meeting of the Leitrim PEACEPLUS Partnership was held on Wednesday 7th September 2022.
Members of Leitrim's PEACEPLUS Partnership Committee at its inaugural meeting, 7th September 2022
Consultations for the Leitrim PEACEPLUS Action Plan
Phase 1: Initial consultation and Engagement
Six full days of 1hr sessions were organised with targeted groups in six locations across Leitrim’s three Municipal Districts, plus an evening public meeting in five locations. In total 55 groups engaged in these events.
The online survey resulted in 104 responses.
In total 190 project concepts/ideas emerged in Phase 1, across the three themes.
A Project Assessment Sub-Committee comprising members of the PEACEPLUS Partnership was established, and shortlisting criteria agreed by the PP Partnership based on the SEUPB PEACEPLUS assessment criteria.
The Project Assessment sub-Committee met four times to discuss and shortlist these concepts/ideas across the three themes identifying similarities or repetition and common themes and identify a short list of project concepts to move into to Phase 2 of the process for Themes 2 and 3.
A short list of potential capital projects under Theme 1 CRT were also identified. These groups were asked to complete an Expression of Interest form on their capital project, aligned to the PEACE PLUS selection criteria.
Phase 2: Targeted Co-design Working Group sessions
Co-design Working Groups were arranged with key stakeholders for themes 2 and 3 from across target groups based on their in-depth knowledge of the topics including those who participated in the phase 1 engagement. Leitrim PPN linkage groups, members of the Partnership and Council staff were also invited to sit on the working groups.
The co-design Working Group sessions in May 2023 progressed project concepts under Themes 2 & 3 to the next stage in terms of possible projects and potential delivery models for each.
The four Working Groups were as follows:
- Community Capacity /Leadership /Active Citizenship / Cross Community
- Youth & Inter-generational/Health & Wellbeing/Gender & Equality
- Marginalized/Victims & Survivors of Conflict/ Ex-prisoners/New Communities/Integration /Cross Border Engagement
- Church, Faith & Belief/History & Heritage/Environment/ Cross Border Collaboration
Twenty-eight attendees took part in two full days with four sessions each day.
The Woking Groups summarised the contribution of these projects to peace building in Leitrim as:
- Acknowledging the past leads to reconciliation between communities- keeping it alive without glorifying it
- Learning from new communities by identifying and utilising skillsets
- Dealing with the “chip of the shoulder” shame and “the sins of the father”
- Building strong relationships that transform attitudes and behaviours
- Empowering communities to deliver changes in their communities that build peace particularly with target groups
- promoting and celebrating diversity
- Inclusion of new communities in development of community governance and succession
Phase 3: Co-design meetings to verify projects
Following Phase 2, project proposals were developed. Meetings with potential delivery partners and relevant stakeholders took place ensuring additionality rather than displacement or duplication.
Nineteen meetings took place from June to September with representatives from 20 different organisations.
Through these consultations need and demand were identified as follows:
- Build community resilience and sustainability
- Dealing with trauma and the legacy of conflicts and help build resilience
- Inclusion, understanding and integration of new communities rather than assimilation
- Build and expand on the cross border (CB) /cross community (CC) relationships fostered in previous PEACE programmes
- Build trust and relationships through the natural & built environment
- Acknowledging the role of faith, belief, culture and heritage in peace building
- Addressing the integrated and cross cutting needs of target groups including women, ethnic minorities, ex-prisoners and their families
The resultant projects that emerged were included in the Action Plan application to the SEUPB in October 2023.
Leitrim County Council PEACEPLUS Team
Áras an Chontae,
St. Georges Terrace,
Carrick on Shannon,
Co. Leitrim,
N41 PF67