THE Department of Foreign Affairs has said it had "no role" in deciding if a project it has helped fund should research how language used by the media in Northern Ireland affects politics.
Derry-based community development organisation the Holywell Trust will lead a project to explore the potential impact of a United Ireland and the role northern-based media outlets play in the unity debate.
The tender for the Future Relationship Conversations Project, which is partly funded by foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney’s department, states that the aim of the research is "to review and assess the impact of the use of language by Northern Ireland-based media, and the positive/negative contribution that this makes to addressing division and deepening understanding of the constitutional issue".
The project has been heavily criticised by some unionists, including DUP MP Gregory Campbell who suggested the Irish government was trying to influence the northern media.
"It is absolutely right that the media are held to account for inaccuracies or bias, but this report smacks of an attempt to influence language and drive forward reporting which is sympathetic to nationalism and funded by the Irish Government," he told the Belfast Telegraph.
In a statement released last night, the department said its Reconciliation Fund awarded a grant of €55,000 in December 2020 following an application from the Holywell Trust.
"This funding was to support a broad ranging project involving dialogue and research in relation to options for future relationships and constitutional arrangements on the island of Ireland without any predetermined outcome or agenda," it read.
"The project was intended to draw out diverse views, with a particular focus on those from a Protestant, Unionist, or Loyalist tradition.
"It also envisaged conducting research into relevant topics intended to support an informed and constructive dialogue that would support reconciliation.
"The particular topics for research were to be identified during the project through dialogue and engagement by the Holywell Trust.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs had no role in deciding what particular areas should be included."
The department said the findings and recommendations from the project were to be presented for discussion at a conference.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund has always been open to applications from those from all communities and traditions on this island," the statement read.
"As set out in the Reconciliation Fund strategy, we are committed to supporting work that through dialogue or other means, seeks to build understanding between peoples and traditions within Northern Ireland, North-South and East/West."
