Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 20: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the amount of money the Government has contributed to the George Mitchell Scholarship Fund in the years 2009 and 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39621/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Pursuant to the terms of the George Mitchell Scholarship Fund Acts 1998 and 2010, in 2010 my Department paid € 1,493,507 into the George Mitchell Scholarship Fund that is managed by the US-Ireland Alliance. This funding is part of the Irish Government's additional endowment in respect of the George Mitchell Scholarship Programme under the George Mitchell Scholarship Fund (Amendment) Act 2010 and it matches funding raised by the Alliance from sources other than public funding in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This is the only payment made by my Department into this Fund since the payment of an initial endowment of £2 million was made by the Irish Government in 1999. The purpose of this Programme is to enable highly qualified students from the United States to attend third level institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland for post-graduate studies.

The scholarship is named after Senator George J Mitchell in honour of his pivotal contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process. Since its inception in the year 2000, the scholarship programme has attracted 126 top level US students from different social and cultural backgrounds and traditions representing a wide range of universities across the United States. During their time here, students have undertaken study and research in areas such as "Peace and Conflict Studies", "International Law and Human Rights", "Ethic and Racial Studies" and numerous other courses which demonstrate the unique nature of the George Mitchell Scholarship programme in promoting peace and mutual understanding amongst people living in areas under conflict. This is a further tribute to the inspirational nature of Senator Mitchell's work to help to deliver peace in Northern Ireland and around the world.

The recently enacted George Mitchell Scholarship Fund Act 2010 demonstrates in a very practical way the Irish Government's continued commitment towards this prestigious Scholarship programme and indeed to strengthening the close economic and cultural ties between the United States and the island of Ireland. The Government's decision to increase our endowment to the programme is a clear illustration of our ongoing commitment to strengthening and enhancing the relationship between the US and Ireland.

The young Mitchell Scholars who study here will be advocates and agents for the strong US-Ireland relationship among the next generation. We hope that their period of study on this island will create an enduring legacy of goodwill towards Ireland and will be of significant benefit to Ireland in the future.