Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The work to support the development of the peace process in Northern Ireland operates at several levels. We have Department officials in Belfast who work there and keep in contact with the political parties and community organisations, especially in the lead-in to and during the marching season. They monitor what is taking place and the difficult parades that take place during that period and they provide information to us on that. We also work through the North-South Ministerial Council.

I can provide a full list of the organisations funded under the various funds and the amounts they receive. In some cases the funding goes to organisations that have been receiving funding for some time because they continue to do good work in reconciliation and in breaking down barriers. Each year new organisations appear and an assessment must be made of any resulting applications. Each application for funding is fully assessed and examined and then a decision is made on the basis of the application submitted.

The peace walls programme was pioneered by the International Fund for Ireland. I visited some of the projects last year. There is strong support for maintaining the funding for those projects.

Deputy Nash made reference to savings within the Ireland fund. A total of €45,000 in savings arose within the Ireland fund. It was kept within the programme and was added to the overall fund for reconciliation. That is where the figure comes from.

A further point arose under the previous programme relating to the incident in Boston. The consul general in Boston has asked for a full report on the incident and we will be considering that when we get it. I believe I have covered all the questions.