Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

85. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the funding streams available under his Department to assist with migrant integration; how much has been allocated under these funding streams this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19219/24]

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am taking this on behalf of Deputy Leddin. We have faced a massive challenge, particularly since 2022 with the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The outbreak of war in mainland Europe is not something we have seen in decades. For the most part, we as a country and particularly communities, have risen to that challenge magnificently. Over 100,000 people have been given shelter on our shores over the last two years . My question is about some of the funding schemes that have been put in place under the Department to assist with that migrant integration and how much those funding schemes have been allocated this year.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department administers a number of funding streams addressing integration by way of annual and multi-annual grants. I have been working to maximise these funds to support excellent work and proposed work across communities in every corner of Ireland, to help migrants to settle in. Despite recent negative events, this remains the more dominant response of Irish communities to new arrivals.

The national integration fund has the goal of supporting communities across Ireland to play a greater role in promoting the integration of migrants. I announced the results of an open call under this fund earlier this month. A total of €2.9 million was awarded to 18 projects over a three-year period. Given the overall strength of applications for this fund and the increasing importance of supporting migrant integration I am currently pursuing additional funding to support an expansion of the fund’s reach.

Also earlier this month, I opened calls for applications for the communities integration fund. Annually, small grant funding of €1,000 to €5,000 is made available for local integration initiatives. Some €0.5 million has been made available for the 2024 version of the fund, which is currently open for applications until next Wednesday, 8 May.

In February I opened calls for a fund specifically to support the integration of international protection applicants. I prioritised the opening of this scheme this year and also tripled the available funding compared to last year. The international protection integration fund has a small and large grant strand and I will be announcing the grantees under this €1.5 million fund next month.

Europe is also supporting us in efforts to facilitate migrant integration. The asylum, migration and integration fund is a multi-annual EU co-funded programme. This day last week I announced 17 projects that have been approved total funding of €10 million for a four-year period.

Finally I want to mention another EU supported fund, the integration and employment of migrants funding stream is part of a multi-annual EU fund under the European Social Fund Plus. In Ireland, seven projects have been approved total funding of €2.7 million for a three-year period to support legally resident migrants who are experiencing barriers to participation and employment because of language difficulties, lack of training or social exclusion. Waterford area partnership in Deputy Ó Cathasaigh’s area is one of its beneficiaries.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I think the Minister of State is right in emphasising that even though what dominates our news cycle are the instances where integration has gone wrong or has failed to take hold, in communities across the country, there are small stories of community integration where it is going right. I would point to my home town of Tramore. We have had direct provision in Tramore for well over 20 years. I have taught those kids. You look at the pictures of the county final and you see the evidence of positive integration within our community.

The proliferation of funding streams is very welcome but when you talk to the various GAA clubs, community groups or whatever else, you find their heads are spinning because there are these different pots of money aimed in different ways. Many clubs are successful with this kind of funding application, because there will be one person who is very good at filling in a form, but not every community group or club has that one person. There is need for simplification of the process.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy makes a number of good points. With smaller funds, such as the community integration fund, we keep the administration level down as much as possible because we want local groups like that to be able to apply for it, so we do our best to keep it as simple as possible. However, with higher amounts of money, when you are talking about hundreds of thousands of euro, a higher level of due diligence is required.

I also want to take the opportunity to acknowledge that tomorrow is 1 May. It is 20 years since EU accession when a lot of new member states joined. I think Ireland in particular benefitted hugely from that. If people look back on the statistics for the years following that tranche of accession in 2004, they will see the number of people who came into the country is quite similar to the number coming in over the last couple of years too. The EU has been good to us. EU accession has been good to us. A very large migrant integration project has happened over the past 20 years, starting in 2004, which should give us all encouragement for the challenges we face now, albeit very different ones.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have a short personal story. I happened to be in UHW visiting a family member over the weekend. I met a nurse there whose accent I could not place. I asked her where her accent was from and it was from Somalia. However, it was not really a Somalian accent, or it started as a Somalian accent but it had a good 20 years of Waterford knocked into it as well. Even had I known at the start of the conversation that she was Somalian, I think I would have struggled to place the accent. It was Somalia by way of Barrack Street, I think.

We see positive examples of integration in our communities all across the island. The Minister is moving in this direction through these funding streams but I would say that communities have done an enormous amount of heavy lifting. What we have faced over the last two years has been an unprecedented movement of people, both from Ukraine and other parts of the world. These funding streams are necessary to build the social and human capital across our communities to allow that integration to move forward in the positive way I have seen through my teaching career.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We are investing in infrastructure but in people as well. I want to acknowledge the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman’s contribution in this area too. We are developing, under his guidance, local authority integration teams. This bulks up the capacity of local authorities across the country to have a very particular focus on migrant integration. My understanding is that 75% of those positions have been filled and that is trending upwards too.

I must also mention the community recognition fund which is all about how many communities have been doing the heavy lifting the Deputy mentioned. We have a new round of that at the moment. It is important people are aware of it. There are opportunities for communities to further develop their infrastructure. We have made the current process a bit more sophisticated than the last one, in that we have rolling entry points to it. There will be a couple of opportunities this year for communities across the country to improve the infrastructure in their community that will help everyone.