# EU funding to be fast tracked

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/08/31/eu-funding-fast-tracked/
- Published: 2016-08-31T15:41:58+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir has announced that he 
has hired additional staff to help draw down EU funding in the wake of the Brexit
vote.**

Mairtin O’Muilleoir said new people, including economists, have been brought on 
board to “push through EU funding”.

A range of EU funding programmes are open to the community sector in Ireland, most
notably Peace 4 which will offer €229 million to 2020, with additional matched funding
from government, and INTERREG worth €240 million.

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Mr O’Muilleoir said there had been anecdotal evidence about the potential negative
impact of Brexit on funding and staff had already started working on EU applications.

“How do we speed them up, how do we make sure this money isn’t lost,” he said.

[Mr O Muilleoir](http://www.finance-ni.gov.uk) said there remained around £300m 
of European funding still on the cards for the province, and encouraged anyone with
plans to apply for it to do so quickly.

“The deadline is now the Autumn Statement. If you don’t get an application in, through
the complex process and signed up before then, you have no guarantee of future funding,”
he told the Belfast Telegraph.

He added:

> “Despite the promise of the British Prime Minister to act in the interests of 
> all, there has been no attempt to consult with myself, the Executive or the Irish
> government, about the best way forward in relation to European funds.”

 

_Image: [Euro notes](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=128123210) – gena96
on Shutterstock_

 * **[Final EU peace funding announced](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/03/final-eu-peace-funding-announced/)**(
   3 November 2016)
 * **[European Commission offers €150,000 in social innovation competition](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/02/28/european-commission-offers-150k-euros-in-social-innovation-competition/)**(
   28 February 2017)
 * **[EU funding still an option for N Ireland to 2020 despite Brexit](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/05/11/eu-funding-still-option-n-ireland-despite-brexit/)**(
   11 May 2017)

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