Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 July 2026
6. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide an update on the progress made to date on the Government commitment of the establishment of the John Hume fund; the timeline for the introduction of the fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49805/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn September 2025, my Department established a new European Parliament Unit, with dedicated resources to focus on our relationship with this key institution. The overall purpose of this unit is to maximise opportunities for effective Irish engagement with the European Parliament, both as a key partner in our ongoing work and in particular with a view to an effective Irish Presidency.
Part of this work in engaging with the Parliament, has been to explore the possibility of establishing a John Hume Fund or annual prize in his name.
I think it is important to reflect here in the House on why the Government has chosen to honour John Hume with this prize. John Hume was elected to the European Parliament in the first direct elections ever held to that body in 1979. He served as one of Northern Ireland’s three MEPs until he retired in 2004. John Hume remains one of the most distinguished statesmen ever to serve in the European Parliament and is the only member to have received a Nobel Prize. In commemoration of this, the Irish Government donated a bust of John Hume to the Parliament building in Strasbourg which sits in the Members’ Lounge. John Hume always said that his experience in the European Parliament, where he saw the reconciliation between longstanding enemies like France and Germany, indeed the very home of the Parliament in Strasbourg, a city that had moved between France and Germany through war on so many occasions, inspired him to believe that peace and reconciliation was also possible in Northern Ireland.
Officials from my Department have been engaged in outreach around the establishment of a fund or prize, conducting research on existing awards granted by the European Parliament and gathering insights from relevant interlocutors, with a view to recommending a way forward on the establishment of a new fund in cooperation with the European Parliament.
This work has been very valuable, and I know that we hope to see progress on the establishment of the Prize very soon. We are in the final stages of confirming the structure of the Prize and the timeline for implementation, so I hope to have an update for colleagues in the coming weeks.
