Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I expect to announce a further round of funding for reconciliation projects before the end of the year.

The Deputy referred to outstanding commitments in the agreements. He is right to point out that a number of elements of the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement have yet to be fully implemented. He mentioned the establishment of the independent consultative forum which will be representative of civil society on the island. In this regard, the St. Andrews Agreement provided further that the Northern Ireland Executive would support the setting up of an independent North-South consultative forum. That issue has been raised by the Irish Government in the context of the most recent talks. Deputy Smith will also be aware that the Government of which he was a part submitted detailed proposals in September 2008 on the role, format and membership of that forum.

On the issue of the Irish Language Act, I agree with Deputy Smith's comments. This is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and in particular, of the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure. I regret that the principle as enshrined was not demonstrated in the recent comments by Mr. Gregory Campbell of the DUP. I deplore what were most unhelpful comments and recognise that they were deeply hurtful to many people across this island who are upset that our language was denigrated in such a way.

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