The Reconciliation Fund was established under the Department’s North-South and Anglo-Irish budget in 1982. The Fund’s objectives are to assist individuals and organisations involved in reconciliation work and to encourage and facilitate better relations within and between the traditions in the North, between North and South, and between Ireland and Britain.

The Good Friday Agreement endorsed the need for reconciliation between the traditions on this island and the promotion of a culture of tolerance at every level of society. The participants recognised and valued the work being done in this area by community based organisations, which they see as having a critical role in consolidating peace and political stability. The participants in the Good Friday Agreement also undertook to “positively examine the case for enhanced financial assistance for the work of the reconciliation.”

To give effect to these commitments in the Good Friday Agreement  the budget of the Reconciliation Fund was increased eight-fold in 1999 to £2m. Since then, the Reconciliation Fund has awarded grants exceeding €23 million to some 650 organisations involved in cross community and cross border reconciliation and outreach projects. The overall allocation for 2007 is €3 million.

Guidelines for the Reconciliation Fund and application forms are available here