Sir, - I am writing to correct inaccurate criticism of the International Fund for Ireland from the European Court of Auditors, as reflected in the report by Tim O'Brien (The Irish Times, January 17th).
Specifically, I wish to correct the misleading suggestion that there has been a "surprisingly low level of take-up" of fund monies. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the fund is oversubscribed with applications and has no trouble in committing all of the funds made available to it by its donors: the European Union, United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Indeed, we have a very healthy flow of project proposals and could easily commit much greater funds, were these available to us.
All of the cash balances held by the fund are contractually committed to projects already approved and which will be drawn down as the projects move to completion. This situation arises because the fund is invariably the first organisation to offer assistance to a project. This money is held in escrow for the project until it obtains the full funding package and then released as the project is completed.
These committed monies comprise the cash balances held by the fund and if drawn down would leave the fund with a zero balance, as our published accounts demonstrate. It is worth noting that the European Commission's response to the Court of Auditor's Report also makes this position very clear.
It is also inaccurate to suggest that there is considerable overlapping between the work of the fund and other EU programmes. Rather, the fund has been careful to work in close cooperation with other EU funding programmes to ensure that its work harmonises with theirs and does not overlap or compete.
The fund is an international organisation established by the Irish and British governments in 1986. Since then, it has offered assistance to some 4,600 projects in both jurisdictions to which it has committed around £380 million sterling. This assistance has levered additional investment from other sources, thereby securing an overall investment of some £1.2 billion. Over 80 per cent of these projects are located in the most disadvantaged areas and when completed it is calculated they will have contributed to the creation of around 38,000 jobs.
It was encouraging to note that the fund's achievements, particularly its innovative and imaginative approach to promoting cross-community and cross-border economic regeneration, are recognised in the Court of Auditor's Report.
I realise this is a rather detailed letter but I was anxious to ensure that the work of the fund, which is possible only through the generous support of our donors, is accurately reflected in your reporting. - Yours, etc.,
William T. McCarter, Chairman, International Fund for Ireland, Dublin 2.