Mr. Niall Burgess:

The Loyalist Communities Council does not receive funding either directly or indirectly but we do work closely with community organisations in loyalist areas. For example, the Shankill Women's Centre is an organisation that we have long supported and worked closely with. We do not allocate or apportion funding according to the geographic area or community. We consider funding applications on their merits and we fund them accordingly. Within the framework of the reconciliation fund, we fund a number of projects that have a cross-Border dimension and projects in respect of which there are links between communities on either side of the Border. Each application is considered on its own merits. That has been a really valuable part of our overall work on reconciliation in Northern Ireland and on North-South work because it connects the work of the Department in a deeply rooted way to work that is happening at community level. That is where the expansion in the reconciliation fund and the additional resources behind it will make an impact over time.