Donegal Greens question 'peace' funds

donegal | miscellaneous | press release Wednesday September 17, 2003 16:40 by Donegal Greens dlgreen at eircom dot net

Car parks for peace??

Dear Friends, This press release is quite long but if you wish to clear up any points please contact me at 074 25168 or 086 3772913
and I will help to clear any matter up.
We have been working on this issue for 14 months now and have all the relevant documentation to support this press release.

Yours Sincerely
Frank Gallagher PRO
Donegal Green Party

Peace II Task Force Funding Press Release

The town of Letterkenny has without doubt gone through a massive transformation in the last five to ten years fuelled by an increasing
population and it’s attraction as a shopping centre for those living in the hinterland of the town within and up to a 50 mile radius. This ensures a climate of constant trading particularly in the main street of Letterkenny throughout the week and on weekends. This consequently causes an increased demand for car parking, well this would be the logical reason,
except for one particular case where this is apparantly not the full reason. For this particular case half the reason seems to be to promote peace and reconciliation and must be adorned by a sculpture into the
bargain.

Following correspondence in June 2002 with the Manager of Donegal County Council, Mr. Michael McLoone, local member of the Green Party Mr.
Neil Clark was referred to the Town Clerk of Letterkenny Urban District Council. The subject of Mr. Clark’s query was the status of the
Letterkenny Cathedral car park. Mr. Clark received a response stating that
“improvements proposed for Cathedral carpark will significantly reduce the serious traffic hazard that currently exists” and that the roads
surrounding the car park would remain accessable during improvements. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the relocation of travellers who used the
Cathedral carpark as a halting site was also regarded as an “improvement”.

Further queries by Mr. Clark resulted in a correspondence received in January 2003 from the Secretary of the Donegal Peace II Task Force, Mr. Garry Martin, a body responsible for issuing funds under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation. This correspondence stated that the Task Force was advised by Letterkenny Town Council that detailed plans were submitted for comment to all the churches that surround the
Cathedral carpark during the planning process. Public notices were also posted in the local newspapers, plans were displayed for four weeks at the Town Council offices and Roads office in Letterkenny and also in the planning office in Lifford.

Mr. Clark continued to be dissatisfied with the “proposed improvements”
being planned for the Cathedral carpark particularly when he discovered
there would be 50 fewer carparking spaces. He is also of the opinion that the proposed layout is a disaster and does not lend itself to a
speedy changeover of parking such as is required on a Sunday when the carpark would need to be cleared in 10 minutes. In fact he would challenge anyone in the Town Council to interview people parking there for he’s
sure less than 10% would be aware of proposed developments made for the carpark.

Mr. Clark is also very concerned about the introduction of parking charges following “improvements”. While speaking on Highland Radio, Cllr. Dessie Larkin(IFF) commented that he did not foresee the introduction of car parking charges at the Cathedral carpark for at least 5 years. But
this prospect is still to the dissatisfaction of Mr. Clark because the land that constitutes the Cathedral carpark was a gift bestowed upon
the people of Letterkenny by Viscount Southwell. For this reason Mr. Clark has expressed he would seek a written guarantee from the Town Council
that a carparking charge would not be introduced.

If such a charge was to be imposed it would leave an intensely sour taste in one’s mouth
since the “proposed improvements” are also being approximately 50% financed by the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation. The total estimated costs of the carpark “improvements” have been set at Euro392,062.

Mr. Clark is bewildered by how a project such as carpark improvements can secure funding of Euro200,000 from a fund set-up to promote peace
and reconciliation between cross-border communities? And is this also the reason why Cllr. Dessie Larkin could not foresee the introduction of charging for carparking in the Cathedral carpark for at least 5 years
when one takes into consideration that European funded public carparking projects are strictly prohibited from charging carpark users for a
minimum of 5 years?

With funding being received by a carpark “improvements” project from
the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, it was necessary to make enquiries and demand information as to what the criteria were under this programme to receive funding. The Donegal NE Constituency Green Party opened correspondence with Mr. Garry Martin, Secretay of Donegal Peace II Task Force, to request information to this effect. Mr. Martin was
extremely helpful and outlined the process under which a project was
assessed and evaluated for funding.

The process effectively involves 3 steps. The first step is an on-site evaluation by an executive from the Donegal Peace II Task Force.
Progression to the second step is on the basis of a report from the executive on-site visit that requests the establishment of an evaluation panel. This panel is a sub-committee of the County Development Board and the County Council led Task Force who further assess and make a
recommendation whether a project should be supported or not. Finally the third step
involves the recommendation of the evaluation panel being brought before the full board of the Peace II Task Force, which is itself a
sub-committee of the County Development Board, to make the decision as to whether the project should be approved and what level of funding the project should receive. Any funding that is awarded is drawn down from the fund
that is administered by the Special EU Programmes Body(SEUPB) located
in Belfast.

The evaluation criteria applied throughout the three step process are set out by the conditions for project selection drawn up in the EU
Programme for Peace and Reconciliation Booklet(?). On closer inspection, it has been established that the parameters applying to a project set by these conditions are so broad that any project could effectively be
funded under the terms of the Peace and Reconciliation Programme. Maybe
such extremely broad conditions that require satisfying are a product of the co-drafters of the conditions set out for the Programme of Peace and Reconciliation: the SEUPB and the Department of Environment and Local
Government of Ireland.

This is the product of Donegal Green Party enquiries so far and several
questions arise from these enquiries:
1) Is the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation monitored from
Brussels?
2) Who signed off the present conditions that must be satisfied to
secure funding?
3) Is the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation audited?
4) How was a body permitted to draft the conditions for securing EU
funding while also allowed to act as administrator of the fund?
5) Are the monies employed to establish the Peace and Reconciliation
fund in addition to EU funds normally allocated to Ireland from the EU?
6) Has the Department of Environment and Local Government in Ireland
drafted the conditions for securing funding under this programme in such
a way as to gain further funding to finance “environmental” projects
undertaken by private developers rather than have to provide extra
finance through the national budget required by County Councils in the border
regions to provide the same service?
7) Were the members of the County Development Plan appointed, selected
or did they volunteer?
8) Can the conditions for awarding funding in the EU Programme for
Peace and Reconciliation be modified to ensure projects not deserving of
funding under this programme are not selected?
9) Has Ireland become a net financial contributor to the EU?

If Ireland has become a net financial contributor to the EU rather than a net benefactor, this means that any future financial assistance received from the EU must be spent frugally and wisely. Any future private
developments must also be subjected to good planning regulations that ensure minimal problems for future development which will also result in minimal costs. For cases that violate planning agreements and regulations, heavy penalties must be enforced. EU programme funds should clearly be vehicles for wealth distribution, not wealth concentration.

In the opinion of the Donegal Green Party, project proposals more deserving of funding in the Donegal – Northern Ireland border region under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation would be primarily social
projects. Such projects would revitalize small border communities severely affected by the closure of cross-border roads by stimulating the
local economies of these numerous communities. The process of peace and reconciliation cannot be sustained without communication. Cross border
communication projects are very worthy of funding under this programme e.g. inter-cultural schemes, educational IT projects and to facilitate all these activities an effective and efficient cross-border public transport service that serves all border counties. Such projects are also worthy of funding because they serve all, locally and internationally,in the interests of peace and reconciliation.