IFI hanging in the balance
Back in May last year I reported on the tug of war between the Us Ireland Alliance and the IFI over congressional funding. With the USA making its own spending cuts, the Washington Post reports that the Senate might be about to administer a $17 million "coup de grace" inappropriately enough on St. Patrick's Day.
The IFI maybe didn't help itself because back in 2009 it was talking about running itself down. But now it says "there is a strong feeling across the community in Northern Ireland and the six southern border counties that there is still much work to be done to consolidate the peace process". It's thought Irish officials may be fighting a reaguard action to keep the IFI patient alive. But if the USA cuts its cash that is likely to have a knock on impact on European donors. Should the Fund cease, it's thought there will be a 3 to 5 year wind down on backing projects.
In a recent online article Trina Vargo repeated her criticism of the Fund as part of a "culture of dependency". But local politicians, such as the DUP Junior Minister Robin Newton, have urged the Americans to keep the tap running. That in itself is an interesting sign of how far we've come because when the Fund was created DUP politicians shunned it, regarding it as an attempt by the British and Irish governments to sweeten the bitter pill of the Anglo Irish agreement.
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