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Northern Ireland and Ireland
>> Regional Overview >> Ireland
Development Challenge Summary Tables
Program Summary
Previous Years' Activities
2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997Last updated: 59
Introduction
Support for the reconciliation of feuding factions in Northern Ireland has long been the predominant focus of U. S. assistance to Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. A breakthrough in negotiations between Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders occurred during 1999 with the Good Friday Peace Accord, raising hopes for sustained peace in Northern Ireland and surrounding of Ireland counties. The United States is interested in sustaining that peace by helping to address economic disparities and establishing a culture of conflict prevention and resolution.
Development Challenge
Northern Ireland and the bordering Irish counties have seen over 25 years of armed struggle. Long-standing lack of equal opportunity is key to the conflict. All major social and economic indicators continue to show that Catholics in Northern Ireland, while making some gains, continue to be more disadvantaged than Protestants. Northern Ireland has the highest unemployment rate in the United Kingdom. Long-term unemployment remains high. Job growth is the chief determinant of civic stability. There have been improvements in the rate of re-employment for Catholics. However, Catholic males remain unemployed disproportionately compared with Protestant males. Inability to travel freely throughout the security zones compounds the difficulties for both groups in seeking employment. Nationalists are reluctant to seek employment in the security zones.
Despite the fact that Ireland's economy is among the fastest growing in Europe, the economy of Northern Ireland and its border counties of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan, and Louth has a high level of economic deprivation. Investment remains inadequate in Northern Ireland. Unemployment and under-employment are high, and economic opportunity is beyond the reach of many.
Through the International Fund for Ireland (the Fund), the United States provides economic assistance to address the concerns expressed above at the community level as the most effective means of directly reaching wards, sub-wards, and individuals in need. The objectives of the Fund are to promote economic and social advancement, and encourage contact, dialogue, and reconciliation between Nationalists and Unionists. The Fund seeks to reach these objectives by supporting and promoting social reconciliation through economic development in Northern Ireland and Ireland, with priority given to new investments that create jobs and reconstruct disadvantaged areas. Fund policy requires that all projects should benefit both communities, and that the implementing organization must include members of both communities. The Fund has been very successful in encouraging communities to take ownership of projects. The jobs and social stability that have resulted from the U.S. contribution to the Fund are a tangible expression of the U.S. policy of encouraging peace and reconciliation through economic progress.
In addition to USAID's grant to the Fund, resources are also provided the training program administered by the Department of State. In October 1998, President Clinton signed the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 (IPPCTP), known as the Walsh Visa Program. The law sunsets in 2005. It directs the Secretary of State and the U.S. Attorney General to establish a Program for young people who are residents of Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland to "develop job skills and conflict resolution abilities." The IPPCTP is intended to support economic regeneration and peace and reconciliation. The State Department is authorized to provide up to 4,000 non-immigrant visas in each of three years, inclusive of spouses and children of the trainees. Participants must have confirmed job offers before they enter the United States and may work here for up to 36 months. The Program includes a re-employment component to assist participants in finding jobs in their fields back home.
Other Donors
The Fund's activities are financed through international contributions from the United States, the European Union, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Each of the donors sends a non-voting observer to all Fund Board meetings. In 2000, the United States was the largest donor to the Fund, providing approximately 50% of total donor funding for the year.
FY 2002 Program
U.S. assistance support to the Fund and IPPCTP is directed at reducing the economic hardships of unemployment and community infrastructure decay in order to reduce the economic differences that exacerbate social disruption along religious lines and to consolidate the recent successes of the Peace Process.
The Fund is multilateral and non-partisan. It disburses funds in accordance with the economic and social policies and priorities of both the Irish and United Kingdom and Northern Ireland governments. The Fund is evaluated periodically in terms of internal management and goals, including the priorities identified by the U.S. Government, e.g., equal employment opportunity, job creation, and leveraging additional resources. It is at the local community level that real change has to take place in order to achieve increased employment, social progress and promote reconciliation between people from different cultural backgrounds.
During FY 2002, the Fund will continue to support the active involvement of communities in shaping their own futures. The Fund will emphasize projects that support economic regeneration and community development, with a focus on disadvantaged areas and empowerment of its youth populations for future employability.
Activity Data Sheets
- 190-041 Special Initiatives
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Last Updated on: April 18, 2003 |
