Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

107. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the allocation to the reconciliation fund in 2024; the allocated expenditure in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42842/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In Budget 2024, I secured a 40% increase in the allocation to the Reconciliation Fund to €7.045m. This increase has allowed the Fund, administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs, to provide enhanced support this year for projects and organisations that seek either to address the drivers of division, conflict, and barriers, or to build a strong civil society that encompasses all communities. The typical grant is around €25,000, but awards can be as small as €2,000.

The Reconciliation Fund supports a wide variety of organisations in the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities in Northern Ireland and border counties as well as organisations working on a north-south basis, along with a small number of organisations based in Britain. All projects supported by the Fund must be aligned to the Reconciliation Fund Strategy, available on my Department’s website.

For 2025, it is planned to retain the Reconciliation Fund at 2024 levels. A new strategy for 2025-2029 is in preparation and my Department will be carrying out consultations throughout Northern Ireland and border counties in the coming months to ensure that the Fund continues to support our vision of a reconciled Ireland and that the strategy remains relevant, effective and efficient over the coming years. The window of application for the Fund's 12-month grants will open in February, under the new strategy.

A full list of the organisations which received funding from the Reconciliation Fund since 2012 to present is available on my Department’s website : www.gov.ie/en/service/acf50-reconciliation-fund/#annual-round-funding.