The United States has ended what was its main financial support for the peacebuilding project on the island of Ireland over the last 40 years, it has been confirmed.
The International Fund for Ireland (IFI), which helped to lay the foundation for the Belfast Agreement, was created in 1986 through a historic agreement between the Irish and British governments, with the support of Ronald Reagan, then US president, and “Tip” O’Neill, who was US speaker of the House.
The peace and reconciliation project has funded the removal of peace walls in Northern Ireland and programmes to prevent young people from being recruited by paramilitaries. It has been credited as one of the greatest success stories of the peace process.
IFI, which funds civic projects which bring nationalist, unionist and cross-Border communities together, has inspired attempts to create a new project for Israel and Palestine modelled on the IFI.
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Over the last 40 years, the US has been one of the main supporters of the fund. Successive Washington administrations – including the first Trump one – together contributed more than $500 million (€435 million) to it.
The Irish Government has described Washington’s contribution to the fund as “the main financial means for US government assistance to peacebuilding on the island”.
Last year, US president Donald Trump started to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAid) as part of what was presented as a plan to improve US government “efficiency”.
It had then prompted fears that IFI could lose one of its most important sources of income, but the withdrawal of US funding from the peacebuilding project was not confirmed.
The IFI had said last year it had received financial support from “a range of international donors, including the US government” and was seeking clarity and support from its US partners.
Now the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the US did withdraw funding from the IFI last year.
The confirmation was included in a briefing document prepared for Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee when she took over from Simon Harris late last year.
It said the priority of the IFI was to develop and fund initiatives that “tackle segregation and promote integration to build a lasting peace in Northern Ireland and six southern Border counties”.
“US funding was withdrawn in 2025 as part of the global foreign assistance review by the US administration,” the briefing document said.
Last year, The Irish Times revealed how the UK government had pulled its funding for the IFI because of budget cuts imposed by Westminster.
The UK had committed to paying £4 million (€4.6 million) to the IFI between 2021 and 2025, in four instalments of £1 million.
But the UK government confirmed last year it could not afford the final £1 million instalment because it had “inherited a very challenging fiscal position”.
The US department of state did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Government continued to engage with the US government on American support for the International Fund for Ireland, in particular on the delivery of the new funding mandated by Congress.
