Vol. 363 No. 9
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the submissions, if any, which he has made to the Anglo-Irish Conference with a view to securing funds for Border counties; if he will give details of submissions which he has sought from relevant State authorities who have responsibilities for Border areas; and if allocations are to be granted to each authority.
11.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the offer of financial aid which has been received from the United States Government to back the Anglo-Irish agreement; if any conditions will be attached to the aid; if the allocation of the money will be confined to Northern Ireland; if the agreement of his Government will be required for the allocation of the money within Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
22.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will agree that the action programme of NERDO is in keeping with the sentiments as expressed in the New Ireland Forum and the spirit of the Anglo-Irish agreement and that any funds from the USA should be applied to this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
25.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if as part of the forthcoming American aid package for Ireland he will request the American authorities to grant a quota of temporary working visas to young Irish people.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3, 11, 22 and 25 together.
Article 10 (a) of the Anglo-Irish agreement states that the two Governments shall co-operate to promote the economic and social development of those areas of both parts of Ireland which have suffered most severely from the consequences of the instability of recent years and shall consider the possibility of securing international support for this work. The two Governments have been in close contact on this matter and the Inter-Governmental Conference considered it at their first meeting on 10 December last. It is our intention to establish an international fund to help to promote reconstruction and reconciliation in Ireland. It is not possible, however, to say at this stage what form the fund will take, the specific amounts that may be contributed to it, or the projects that may benefit from it.
The granting of temporary work visas for Irish young people wishing to enter the United States is not connected with discussions on the establishment of the fund.
The Minister did not refer to the second part of Question No. 11 which asked if any conditions would be attached to the aid from the United States. Would the Minister tell the House what conditions, if any, will attach to that aid, assuming it comes?
The Deputy is right. I should have said there are no conditions attaching.
Is the Minister saying that the United States, through Congress, are prepared to allocate funds without any conditions, irrespective of where the funding is going and that money from this trust fund, when established, can be allocated by the Irish or British Governments to any organisation or group which they see fit?
I hope I am not wronging the Deputy, but there is an implication in that question that there is no generosity in the American Government and that they only allocate funds where they can get a return. The United States Government volunteered these funds on the basis of an agreement which they see as being of benefit to the island of Ireland, to the reconciliation between the traditions in Ireland and to the improved relations between the two Governments. To suggest that they would only make a contribution to that fund if they could get something out of it is less than fair to the American Government or the American people who have befriended both countries for hundreds of years and provided a home for many Irish emigrants.
I have not suggested any lack of generosity. I asked whether there were any conditions attached to the aid. It would not be unusual, I am sure, for the American Government when giving funds, for instance, to Nicaragua——
The Deputy asked that question and he got an answer.
I am simply putting the point to the Minister——
You cannot argue——
The Minister made a statement and I am simply clarifying my question.
You may ask a question.
I will try to put this in the form of a question, but you will appreciate that it is very difficult. Presumably, if Congress were to allocate funds to Nicaragua they would make it a condition that the money would go to the Contadora group and not to the Nicaraguan Government because of the political attitude to the Nicaraguan situation. Is the Minister saying that there will be absolutely no conditions attached to the funding?
That question has been answered.
It has not.
The Chair feels it has.
We had a lecture about generosity as an answer to whether there would be no conditions attached.
That is repetition.
I can only repeat that the fund is established under the agreement with the intention of reconciling traditions and repairing the damage which may have been done by the violence over the past 18 months on both sides of the Border to both communities.
Would the Minister say whether it is true that Secretary of State Shultz said that the total amount of money available would be no more than £250 million? This falls far short of the figure offered to us on the night of the signing of the Anglo-Irish agreement. We were told that night by Government spokesmen that the sum would be a minimum of £500 million, and possibly up to £1,000 million.
I do not think that statement came from Secretary of State Shultz. I think what he was doing was responding to questions. He said he had heard it from a certain gentleman, but there is nothing official about it and so far there has been no official indication of the amount of money involved.
Would the Minister say if there is anything official in what was said by American Ambassador Heckler at her first press conference? She said she thought funds would be extremely limited and hinted at the figure of £250 million being closer to the amount we might eventually get over a certain period.
I have seen that statement but there is nothing official yet. All I can tell the Dáil is that I know the Speaker of the House and the President of the United States are extremely concerned and that America will contribute this funding and given the Irish roots of both gentlemen I believe they will be as generous as possible.
Has the Minister discussed this matter with Ambassador Heckler having regard to the fact that she mentioned the sum of £250 million, which was far short of the Government's expectations?
I do not know how the Deputy can make a statement like that. The Government do not have any expectations in this regard. What the Government said is that we are establishing this fund. President Reagan accompanied by Speaker O'Neill, indicated that they wished to contribute to the fund. We appreciate their generosity but I have not yet discussed this with Ambassador Heckler.
What will be the ratio of this funding vis-à-vis the Six Counties and the Border counties in the Republic, with particular reference to the Donegal-Derry Border which has suffered very severely because of the trouble?
As I said, it is not possible at this stage to state what form the fund will take, the specific amounts which may be contributed or the projects which may benefit from it. It is much too early to give answers to those questions.
When the Minister is negotiating regarding this fund will he ensure that equality will be the criterion particularly in the Derry-Donegal area? Much damage was done, particularly to the tourist industry and to other industries in that region.
Of course we will take all such matters into account.
When an American envoy states that the funds being allocated must not be used for an enterprise in which the State would have an involvement, will the Minister state if that is regarded as acceptable as a condition? In relation to Question No. 11, will the Minister indicate if the Irish Government will have any say in the allocation of moneys within Northern Ireland?
These questions are a little premature. I accept that the funds should be additional to what the Government are providing already and not in substitution. Otherwise the fund would be pointless. The intention at the moment is that the fund would be established and put in the control of trustees from both Governments who would be responsible for its administration. That is what is envisaged at the moment but it may not work out like that when we get into detailed discussion.
I appreciate it is difficult for the Minister to say what form the fund will take but surely there is a limit to the number of ways in which the money can be spent? Even at this early stage would the Minister consider asking local authorities around the Border to make a number of submissions? The money can be spent only in two or three ways. The submissions could influence the amount of money to be made available. Perhaps the local authorities or other interests such as tourism could make submissions to the Minister now. Will he accept them?
There is no necessity for me to ask anybody to make submissions. It is nearly impossible to get in the door of my office with all the submissions piling up inside it. Obviously the counties along the Border who have environmental and infrastructural projects will have to be considered to see which project is the most suitable.
Does the Minister not agree that there should be some kind of developmental board to administer the fund? Our experience to date with regard to the Border fund is that it was somewhat haphazard and was not properly balanced over the entire area. I am sure the Minister has read a speech by the president of chambers of commerce in which he asked that chambers of commerce on both sides of the Border should get involved in cross-Border relations as an exercise in goodwill in anticipation of the fund.
I hope that it will not be in anticipation of the fund that they will enter into cross-Border co-operation and dialogue. I hope they will do that in any event. Part of the Anglo-Irish Agreement is to improve relations between the two traditions in Ireland, which is an obligation on all of us. As I said in reply to Deputy Gallagher, there is no need for me to look for applications for this fund. The present thinking is that a board of trustees will be set up to administer it. I am sure when they come to make decisions they will take into account what the Deputy has said.
After ten years of cross-Border development and co-operation it is time for major projects rather that the small projects we have had to date.
I would be all in favour of major projects but I should not like the impression to be given that the small projects which brought together people from both sides of the Border and allowed them to work together were valueless.
I did not say they were valueless.
They made an enormous contribution to better understanding across the Border.
Will the Minister say what progress, if any, the Government have made in convincing the Governments of countries such as Canada and Australia and the European Community to make a contribution to this fund?
This is an international fund. We would be grateful for and would appreciate the motives that would dictate contributions to the fund from any country. To date only America has offered to contribute. Consideration is being given at the moment to see if the European Community should be approached as a body or on the basis of the individual member states and also to see how the countries mentioned by Deputy Collins should be approached.
May I take it from the Minister's reply that we have not made any positive approach yet to the Governments of Canada or Australia or to the EC to try to get money for this fund? Is it the case that we have done nothing positive in a formal way with regard to this matter?
The Deputy is correct when he says we have done nothing positive in a formal way as yet, but we have in an informal way.
Will the Minister state what we have done informally and how successful our informal approaches have been?
I have indicated our approach has been informal. We have put the Governments on notice that we should like to talk to them.
Is it the case that this Government have just put them on notice? Is that all?
It is not the case that this will come as a surprise to them. The Taoiseach spoke to Prime Minister Mulroney almost 12 months ago and I have spoken to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Australia. We have had informal discussions with Jacques Delors, Head of the Commission, and I would not say they are unaware of what is in our mind.
