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Irish bucks in Hill bill

February 17, 2011

By Staff Reporter

The funds were added to the bill by rep. Joe Crowley, a co-chair of the congressional Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs.
“Project Children and Cooperation Ireland are two shining examples of successful people-to-people exchanges that encourage reconciliation and conflict resolution in Northern Ireland,” Crowley said in a statement.
“We must continue to encourage young people to work through conflict and we must continue to play a role in the Northern Ireland peace process,” Crowley said.
Project Children and Cooperation Ireland, said Crowley, included targeted efforts to reach working class young people most susceptible to paramilitary pressures as well as leadership and diversity training for the many university students in Northern Ireland who want to move beyond the sectarian pressures imposed upon them.
“For over a decade, there has been a sustained bipartisan national policy to support ongoing efforts to end the civil conflict in Northern Ireland. While the latest efforts to restore power sharing have fallen short and the political process is at a standstill, I believe that the United States must remain engaged in Northern Ireland at all levels to encourage peace and reconciliation,” the queens Democrat said..
Meanwhile, a delegation representing the International Fund for Ireland was in Washington last week to present the IFI’s case for continued U.S. support.
Fund chairman Denis Rooney met with Capitol Hill politicians including Friends of Ireland chairman, rep. James Walsh.
The U.S. contributed $18.5 million to the fund last year and has donated $420 million in total since the IFI was established in 1986 in the wake of the Anglo Irish Agreement.

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