Sligo County Council Led Peace II Task Force

PEACE II EXTENSION PROGRAMME

MEASURE 3.3 Building Better Communities and Improving Rural Communities

The EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation is a unique EU funded programme for all of Northern Ireland and the Border Regions of Ireland (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo) which is financed by the European Union Structural Funds (75%) and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (25%).

The main aim of the PEACE II programme is:

to promote reconciliation and help to build a more peaceful and stable society.

Funding under Measures 3.3 focused on a wide variety of projects to encourage revitilisation of areas, to support regeneration, development and enhancement of village and rural community facilities and to develop tourism related projects in order to reposition the area as a competitive tourism destination in the international market place.

Activities during 2007 on a selection of PEACE II extension programme projects included:

• Ox Mountain Walking Festival – April
• Dedication ceremony in Kilmactigue cemetery – May
• Launch of ‘Ocean Dreams’ at Mullaghmore Sailing Club – June
• Blue Raincoat Cairde Festival – July
• Sligo Play Day in association with National Play Day – July
• Official Opening of the Ancient Ireland Theme Park, Banada – September

Other projects / groups funded include:

• Rosses Point coastal walk
• Calry Community Walkway
• CLASP - Upgrading of Keash Hall
• Moylough Community Resource Centre
• Youth Reach Sligo
• MCR Community Centre
• Ballygawley Development Group
• Skreen and Dromard Community Council
• Ballymote Community Enterprise
• North Connaught College
• Geevagh Community Centre
• Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann
• CLASP - Community Transport
• CLASP - Ballinafad Village Amenity Area
• Coolaney Development Company
• Marketing Sligo Forum – County Sligo Tourism Initiative
• Ballintrillick Environmental Group
• Kid’s Own Voices
• Tubbercurry Community Arts Development project
• Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership- Active Communities project

Projects applying for funding under the PEACE II extension programme were required to show that they would contribute to at least one of the overall objectives of the Programme as follows:

Objective 1:

Addressing the legacy of conflict, i.e. the Programme aims to address specific problems generated by the conflict in order to assist the return to a normal peaceful and stable society.

Objective 2:

Taking opportunities arising from Peace, i.e. to encourage actions, which have a stake in peace and which actively, help promote a stable and normal society where opportunities for development can be grasped

The projects are also required to demonstrate how they address five additional interwoven and related strands:

• Building positive relationships
• Acknowledging and dealing with the past
• Developing a shared vision of an interdependent and fair society
• Cultural and attitudinal change
• Social, economic and political change

The Managing Authority for the Peace II Programme is the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) which is one of North/South Implementing Bodies, set up under Strand Two of the Good Friday Agreement:

The Sligo County Council led PEACE II Task Force (established as sub committee of the County Development Board) which is the Implementing Body for Sligo received €1,033,000 under Measure 3.3 and supported 26 projects throughout the county. The aims and objectives of these Measures also match the objectives of the Sligo County Development Board’s Economic, Social and Cultural Strategy for County Sligo 2002-2012. The Task Force draws its members from the four sectors, Local Government, Local Development, State agencies and the Social Partners.

The Office of Community and Enterprise, Sligo County Council, provides secretariat and technical assistance to the Task Force on the implementation of the PEACE II extension programme.