AQW 32477/22-27

Mr Danny Donnelly
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 01/10/2025
Answered On Date: 12/01/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities, pursuant to AQO 2406/22-27, whether a value for money assessment has been carried out on the £2,251 spent on commissioning and producing the dossier entitled, The Family Footsteps of JD Vance, in light of reports that the researcher carrying out the project had told his Department that no definitive link could be found.

Answer:

A value for money assessment has not been carried out. This research contributes to my Department’s wider priorities to mark the 250th anniversary of the creation of the United States following the printing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. This is an important milestone and presents a significant opportunity to build on the historical and cultural connections that exist between Northern Ireland and the US.

Settlers from Ulster made an invaluable contribution to the creation of the United States, and the semiquincentennial offers the opportunity to highlight key individuals from here such as Charles Thomson, and John Dunlap who played such seminal roles.

My engagement with key US cultural institutions has already yielded valuable exchanges to date and I am eager to explore further opportunities. I have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with the America 250 Commission reflecting the commitment to sustaining and expanding these cultural ties.

I was pleased to receive a letter from Vice President JD Vance expressing his appreciation for the book about his family ancestry.