The Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) said they are seeking ‘clarity’ after US President Donald Trump issued an order to review most foreign assistance programmes.
The IFI received $4m (€3.8m) from the United States last year to support cross-community projects in Northern Ireland and southern border counties, including Donegal. Last July alone, four Donegal projects received more than €600,000 from the cross-border fund.
The fund’s chairman, Donegal man Paddy Harte, said they have been trying to get clarity on whether it will be impacted by a funding freeze.
“We have always had a very close relationship with the US Administration. We have enjoyed bipartisan support on a financial, political and often very personal basis which has been critical in building and embedding the level of peace we now enjoy on this island,” Mr Harte told RTÉ News.
“We will continue to work with our US colleagues to establish clarity with what this executive order means,” he added.
Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle, whose father hails from Glencolmcille, has successfully led the fight on Capitol Hill to increase the funding in recent years.
“It is outrageous President Trump may be freezing these funds. I will do everything possible to fight it,” Mr Boyle said.
“US government funding for the International Fund for Ireland has played a significant role in sustaining the peace process,” he added.
The United States, one of the biggest contributors next to Ireland, has donated more than half a billion dollars to the IFI since its establishment.
The IFI was set up by the Irish and British governments as an independent organisation in 1986 and is supported by international donors including US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand governments and the European Union.
The money has helped deliver peace and reconciliation projects like the removal of peace walls and supporting young people at risk of paramilitary involvement.
Over the decades, the funding has been also used for other major projects including the linking of the Shannon and Erne waters from Leitrim to Fermanagh.
Mr Trump signed an executive order last week for a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance for assessments on whether it is efficient and consistent with his foreign policy.
The decision threatens billions of dollars from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for programmes worldwide, including on the island of Ireland.
Funding to the IFI from the US has increased in recent years, from $750,000 in 2019 to $4m last year.
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