Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2016
331. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total funding allocated to the Reconciliation Fund per annum from 2011 to 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19066/16]
View answerIn 2011 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Reconciliation Fund was allocated €3,000,000; in each of the subsequent years, including this year, it was allocated €2.7 million. Detailed lists of the grants awarded through the Reconciliation Fund since 2012 are available on the Department’s website: https://www.dfa.ie/about-us/funding/reconciliation-fund/.
The purpose of the Reconciliation Fund is to fund civil society organisations to support reconciliation and to create better understanding between people and traditions on the island of Ireland, and between Ireland and Britain. It was originally established in 1982, and funding was significantly increased following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Applications for funding are accepted twice a year, and applications for the next round of funding will be accepted until 16 September 2016. Under the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, the Irish Government has committed itself to the continued annual provision of €2.7m to the Reconciliation Fund.
