Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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156. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the estimated full-year cost if the budget for the reconciliation fund increased by 10%. [13259/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Reconciliation Fund awards grants to organisations working to build better relations within and between traditions in Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between Ireland and Britain.

The annual budget for the Fund was €2.7 million in 2018. In May 2018, on the 20th Anniversary of the referendums on the Good Friday Agreement, I announced that it would be increased to €3.7 million from 2019 onwards reflecting the Government's unwavering commitment to the Agreement and to supporting the vital work of reconciliation being carried out by civil society and groups in Northern Ireland and across this island.

This represented an increase of 37%. If the fund were to be increased by a further 10%, this would bring the total budget to €4.07 million, an increase of €370,000.

Further details about the Reconciliation Fund and lists of grants issued previously can be found on my Department's website at www.dfa.ie/about-us/funding/reconciliation-fund/.