Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The Department is not in receipt of an application from the individual in question so it is not possible to make a grant payment. I will use the occasion of the question to point out the processes.

The Department funds cross-community and cross-Border projects through its reconciliation and anti-sectarianism funds. The purpose of these funds is to assist organisations involved in reconciliation work and efforts to create better understanding between people on the island of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain.

Applications submitted to the Department are initially considered by an interdepartmental committee made up of representatives from the Departments of the Taoiseach, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and Education and Science. Since 1999, the Department has awarded grants totalling approximately €27 million to over 800 projects encompassing a wide range of cross-community and cross-Border reconciliation activities. Details of the application process http://www.dfa.ie/are outlined on the Department's website.

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