Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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281. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of the cross-Border Project Ireland 2040 infrastructure projects and the funding allocated for 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular form. [53845/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I welcome that Project Ireland 2040 funding will support key cross-border infrastructure projects noted in the National Development Plan, including the A5 Transport Corridor to the North West, the Ulster Canal renovation, cross-border greenways, including the Sligo Enniskillen greenway, all-island research centres, and the upgrade of the Dublin-Belfast rail connection to an hourly service, including new rolling stock. Relevant line Departments are the budget holders for these projects.

I am happy to confirm that the Department of Foreign Affairs recently arranged payment of a supplementary allocation of €1 million by the Irish Government towards the North West Development Fund, which supports strategic collaboration between Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council to address the particular needs of the North West and drive growth across the region.

The funding allocation reflects the commitment made by the Irish Government as part of the New Decade, New Approach agreement to continue its support for the work of the North West Strategic Growth Partnership and to provide further funding to the North West Development Fund.

The North West Development Fund is supported by both the Irish Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Northern Ireland Executive. Meetings of the North West Strategic Growth Partnership bring together representatives of the two Councils and senior officials from the Irish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to discuss strategic development priorities for the North West.

This is evidence of our strong commitment to supporting local authorities in working together on a cross-border basis to promote economic and social development in the border region.

This funding will allow the continuation of important collaborative work which has been underway since 2015, and brings to €6 million the total contributed to the Fund by the Irish Government (€3.5m) and the Northern Ireland Executive (€2.5m).

The North West Development Fund was established to fulfil a commitment made in the November 2015 Fresh Start agreement to support regional development work in the North West led by Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Decisions on allocations from the Fund are made by the North West Regional Development Group, a joint committee involving elected representatives from both Local Authorities.

The North West Development Fund has supported a range of strategic initiatives led by the two Local Authorities, including joint research on the impact of Brexit on the North West region, joint trade missions and greenway projects.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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282. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of his Department’s current cross-Border initiatives, goods and or services committed to and the funding allocated to each for 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular form. [53863/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department currently provides funding for cross-border initiatives in the context of its financial contribution to the North West Development Fund and through its operation of the Reconciliation Fund over many years.

I am happy to confirm that the Department recently arranged payment of a supplementary allocation of €1 million by the Government towards the North West Development Fund, which supports strategic collaboration between Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council to address the particular needs of the North West and drive growth across the region.

The funding allocation reflects a commitment made by the Government as part of the New Decade, New Approachagreement.

The North West Development Fund is supported by both the Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Northern Ireland Executive. Meetings of the North West Strategic Growth Partnership bring together representatives of the two Councils and senior officials from the Irish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to discuss strategic development priorities for the North West.

This is evidence of our strong commitment to supporting local authorities in working together on a cross-border basis to promote economic and social development in the border region.

This funding will allow the continuation of important collaborative work which has been underway since 2015, and brings to €6 million the total contributed to the Fund by the Irish Government (€3.5m) and the Northern Ireland Executive (€2.5m).

Through my Department’s Reconciliation Fund, the Government also provides support for civil society organisations working to promote reconciliation and create better understanding between communities in Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between Ireland and Britain. The Fund has supported over 3,000 projects with more than €60 million in grant funding since its establishment in 1982.

The operation of the Reconciliation Fund is essentially cross-border in nature, with the vast majority of the funding awarded by my Department going either directly to groups working within Northern Ireland or to southern based organisations working in peacebuilding on a North-South basis. The projects supported can build meaningful links across communities, addressing the issues that are impacting on their lives, including sectarianism, and working to create better understanding between people and traditions on the island of Ireland.

The annual budget for the Fund was increased from €2.7 million to €3.7 million with effect from 2019 and in the New Decade New Approachagreement the Government committed to maintaining that level of funding.

In light of the Government’s continuing commitment to supporting the work of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland, and recognising in particular, the impact of Brexit and the effects of Covid-19 on the organisations we support, the budget of the Reconciliation Fund will see a further increase this year, with the total of grants awarded likely to reach €4.0 million by the end of the year. My intention is that this will be increased further to €5.0 million in 2022.

To date in 2021, the Reconciliation Fund has awarded grants of almost €2.8 million. The list of organisations awarded funding is provided below in tabular format. A further tranche of grants will be awarded before the end of this year when ongoing funding rounds have been completed.

Decisions on grants to be awarded during 2022 and 2023 have yet to be taken, but once awards are made in the context of our funding rounds during that period, information on those grants will be made available on the Department’s website.

Reconciliation Fund grants awarded in 2021