Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the points the Deputy makes. On the €2 million requested for the International Fund for Ireland, that is a fund and other countries contribute to it. We expect the programme costs will amount to approximately €20 million during the term of the strategy, which runs to 2025. There is a call for further funding just now, as opposed to next year. It is a matter of timing. The overall envelope has been set out from now until then. It is a matter of which year the payment goes through.

I take the point on Perth and central Canada. We opened offices in Toronto and Vancouver recently. When I was in Canada, the point was well made to me and officials about the rest of Canada and the Deputy has made it clearly as well.

In relation to our work generally on the diaspora, most of our funding goes to where Irish people traditionally went to. Much of it goes to programmes in Irish centres, whether London, Manchester, New York or other cities.

When we go there, the first port of call for a lot of Irish politicians is to meet the people who went out there generations ago. We have not had significant funding directed towards the new Irish emigrants, because they are more self-sufficient and better able to look after themselves. They are better able to find their own way and they are still young, agile and in the workforce. The bulk of our emigrant support programme goes to the traditional areas. We will be clearing a list of grants for where all that funding is going after this meeting. We will be happy to supply that full list to the committee.