Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 November 2021
282. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the details of his Department’s current cross-Border initiatives, goods and or services committed to and the funding allocated to each for 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular form. [53863/21]
View answerMy Department currently provides funding for cross-border initiatives in the context of its financial contribution to the North West Development Fund and through its operation of the Reconciliation Fund over many years.
I am happy to confirm that the Department recently arranged payment of a supplementary allocation of €1 million by the Government towards the North West Development Fund, which supports strategic collaboration between Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council to address the particular needs of the North West and drive growth across the region.
The funding allocation reflects a commitment made by the Government as part of the New Decade, New Approach agreement.
The North West Development Fund is supported by both the Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Northern Ireland Executive. Meetings of the North West Strategic Growth Partnership bring together representatives of the two Councils and senior officials from the Irish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to discuss strategic development priorities for the North West.
This is evidence of our strong commitment to supporting local authorities in working together on a cross-border basis to promote economic and social development in the border region.
This funding will allow the continuation of important collaborative work which has been underway since 2015, and brings to €6 million the total contributed to the Fund by the Irish Government (€3.5m) and the Northern Ireland Executive (€2.5m).
Through my Department’s Reconciliation Fund, the Government also provides support for civil society organisations working to promote reconciliation and create better understanding between communities in Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between Ireland and Britain. The Fund has supported over 3,000 projects with more than €60 million in grant funding since its establishment in 1982.
The operation of the Reconciliation Fund is essentially cross-border in nature, with the vast majority of the funding awarded by my Department going either directly to groups working within Northern Ireland or to southern based organisations working in peacebuilding on a North-South basis. The projects supported can build meaningful links across communities, addressing the issues that are impacting on their lives, including sectarianism, and working to create better understanding between people and traditions on the island of Ireland.
The annual budget for the Fund was increased from €2.7 million to €3.7 million with effect from 2019 and in the New Decade New Approach agreement the Government committed to maintaining that level of funding.
In light of the Government’s continuing commitment to supporting the work of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland, and recognising in particular, the impact of Brexit and the effects of Covid-19 on the organisations we support, the budget of the Reconciliation Fund will see a further increase this year, with the total of grants awarded likely to reach €4.0 million by the end of the year. My intention is that this will be increased further to €5.0 million in 2022.
To date in 2021, the Reconciliation Fund has awarded grants of almost €2.8 million. The list of organisations awarded funding is provided below in tabular format. A further tranche of grants will be awarded before the end of this year when ongoing funding rounds have been completed.
Decisions on grants to be awarded during 2022 and 2023 have yet to be taken, but once awards are made in the context of our funding rounds during that period, information on those grants will be made available on the Department’s website.
Reconciliation Fund grants awarded in 2021
|
No. |
Organisation |
Amount in € |
|
1 |
4 Corners Festival |
25,100 |
|
2 |
An Gaeláras Ltd |
12,268 |
|
3 |
Ardoyne Association |
9,800 |
|
4 |
Ardoyne Youth Club |
9,891 |
|
5 |
Banbridge Rugby Football Club |
6,110 |
|
6 |
Bardic Educational Arts and Media |
9,980 |
|
7 |
Belfast Charitable Society |
2,700 |
|
8 |
Belfast International Arts Festival |
40,000 |
|
9 |
British-Irish Association |
40,000 |
|
10 |
Centre for Cross Border Studies |
70,500 |
|
11 |
Centre for Democracy and Peace Building |
20,000 |
|
12 |
Cinemagic |
18,000 |
|
13 |
City Centre Initiative |
12,000 |
|
14 |
Cliftonville Community Regeneration Forum |
9,971 |
|
15 |
Clones Family Resource Centre CLG |
34,245 |
|
16 |
Clooney estate Residents Association |
9,950 |
|
17 |
Community Dialogue |
40,000 |
|
18 |
Conradh na Gaeilge |
45,000 |
|
19 |
Cookstown Youth Football |
9,990 |
|
20 |
Co-operation Ireland |
47,200 |
|
21 |
Co-operation Ireland |
67,000 |
|
22 |
Co-operation Ireland |
72,000 |
|
23 |
Co-operation Ireland |
75,000 |
|
24 |
County Fermanagh Super Cup NI |
3,600 |
|
25 |
Cregagh Wanderers Football Club |
3,000 |
|
26 |
Creggan Enterprises Limited |
25,000 |
|
27 |
CRIS - Community Relations In Schools |
60,161 |
|
28 |
DCU Institute for International Conflict Resolution |
55,303 |
|
29 |
Dialogue For Diversity |
9,922 |
|
30 |
Diversity Challenges |
11,359 |
|
31 |
Dorsey Emmets GFC |
6,000 |
|
32 |
Ellen Finlay |
8,150 |
|
33 |
Eoghan Rua CLG |
8,000 |
|
34 |
Gasyard Wall Féile |
18,000 |
|
35 |
Glebeside Community Association Ltd |
8,000 |
|
36 |
Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation |
327,186 |
|
37 |
Glengormley Amateur Boxing Club |
4,000 |
|
38 |
Greenisland Football Club |
3,980 |
|
39 |
Healing Through Remembering |
37,000 |
|
40 |
Imagine Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics |
35,000 |
|
41 |
Intercomm Ireland Ltd |
22,200 |
|
42 |
Intercomm Ireland Ltd |
101,848 |
|
43 |
Irish Gallery of Photography DAC |
15,000 |
|
44 |
Irish Gallery of Photography DAC |
23,250 |
|
45 |
Irish Studies University of Liverpool |
41,700 |
|
46 |
Kabosh |
14,447 |
|
47 |
Lincoln Courts Youth and Community Association |
9,950 |
|
48 |
Longford Women's Link |
42,639 |
|
49 |
Naíscoil na Seolta |
15,000 |
|
50 |
National Women`s Council of Ireland |
36,205 |
|
51 |
New Belfast Community Arts Initiative (T/A Community Arts Partnership) |
30,546 |
|
52 |
Newhill Football Club |
1,660 |
|
53 |
Newtownbutler First Fermanagh's GFC |
6,000 |
|
54 |
Newtowncunningham Orange Hall |
9,990 |
|
55 |
NI Youth forum |
100,163 |
|
56 |
North-West Cultural Partnership |
47,368 |
|
57 |
Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education |
27,730 |
|
58 |
Northern Ireland Mixed Marriage Association |
3,000 |
|
59 |
Passionist Peace and Reconciliation Office (Holy Cross, Ardoyne) |
50,000 |
|
60 |
Pat Finucane Centre Limited (Justice for the Forgotten) |
34,888 |
|
61 |
PeacePlayers International - Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) |
39,080 |
|
62 |
Places of Sanctuary Ireland |
20,412 |
|
63 |
Presbyterian Church in Ireland |
17,250 |
|
64 |
R City Youth CIC |
9,315 |
|
65 |
Rasharkin & District Rural Cultural & Educational Society |
6,000 |
|
66 |
Royal Ulster Constabulary Athletic Association |
23,010 |
|
67 |
Saint Patrick Centre |
14,000 |
|
68 |
Schomberg Society Kilkeel Limited |
40,000 |
|
69 |
Shared History Interpretive project (SHIP) |
5,000 |
|
70 |
Smashing Times Theatre Company |
32,128 |
|
71 |
St Eugene's Cathedral |
20,000 |
|
72 |
St Louis House Youth Group |
7,000 |
|
73 |
St Matthews F.C. |
5,450 |
|
74 |
St. Mary’s, Rasharkin GAC |
6,000 |
|
75 |
St. Pauls ABC |
8,000 |
|
76 |
Strabane Athletic Football Club |
4,000 |
|
77 |
The Bloody Sunday Trust |
60,000 |
|
78 |
The Churches Trust Ltd |
28,000 |
|
79 |
The Corrymeela Community |
100,000 |
|
80 |
The Goliath Trust |
5,000 |
|
81 |
The Junction Community Relations & Peace Building Initiative |
29,060 |
|
82 |
The Wheel |
70,000 |
|
83 |
Troubles Tragedy And Trauma |
14,505 |
|
84 |
Truth and Reconciliation Platform |
20,000 |
|
85 |
Ullans Speakers Association |
6,700 |
|
86 |
Ulster Badminton |
5,600 |
|
87 |
University of Huddersfield |
60,000 |
|
88 |
WAVE Trauma Centre |
30,000 |
|
89 |
Wordwell Ltd |
3,770 |
|
90 |
Wordwell Ltd |
8,553 |
|
91 |
Youth Link: NI |
71,741 |
|
92 |
YouthAction Northern Ireland |
63,950 |
|
Total of grants awarded |
€2,777,474 |
|
|
PLUS: Funding allocation to Embassy of Ireland London (for centenaries programme - Lavery exhibition) |
€35,000 |
