asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government intend to take any special measures to mark 1986, which has been designated by the United Nations as International Peace Year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - International Peace Year.
7.
It has been decided already to set aside £10,000 for measures to mark the Year of Peace in Ireland. In addition, An Post are to issue two special stamps to celebrate the year.
Work is going ahead on drawing up further elements of a programme of activities to mark the year and I hope to announce full details of this at an early date.
Does the Minister consider a sum of £10,000 to be sufficient or is it proposed to allocate additional funds to this purpose? Would he consider, as part of the additional activities for which he might consider providing funds, the matter of youth exchanges between different countries, particularly countries of different social systems as this clearly would be a means of people around the world becoming acquainted with each other?
I agree that the exchange of students between the various countries, regardless of ideological background, is a valuable contribution to the cause of peace throughout the world. I should hope that this trend would continue where it already exists and would begin where it does not exist. Like every other aspect of government, there is a limit to the amount of finance that can be applied to these measures.
The £10,000 is from my Department but I expect that other Departments, Education perhaps, will be undertaking other projects during the year. The other countries of the world will have their own projects but I trust that what we are doing will result in as wide an audience as possible, and young people particularly, realising the necessity to work towards, to pray for and to make a contribution towards peace, on this island in the first instance, because this is the most immediate place where there is not peace, and then throughout the world. I should very much like to be able to allocate more funds in this instance but the amount being allocated is at least an indication of the importance we attach to the work and to the Year of Peace ahead.
Is there any proposal to establish in some form a co-ordinating body between the different Departments so that there might be a coherent approach to organising activities for the year and would the Minister consider also making available widely the 1975 Helsinki Agreement which is not freely available now? Will he consider also initiating peace studies in our schools by way of encouraging young people particularly to think in terms of the causes of conflict, not only internationally but in our own country, too?
A committee within my Department are considering what might be various suitable projects and I shall be pleased to ask them to examine the ideas put forward by Deputy De Rossa.