Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Budget 2016 will see the Department of Foreign Affairs maintain its steadfast support for Irish community and diaspora groups in many corners of the world through €11.6 million in funding under the emigrant support programme. The Government's emigrant support programme is focused on supporting cultural, community and heritage projects that foster a vibrant sense of Irish community and identity.

In particular the programme supports organisations that deliver front-line advisory services and community care to Irish emigrants, particularly to the more vulnerable and marginalised members of our community abroad. In recent years the programme has also funded capital projects that ensure the long-term future of Irish communities. I refer to projects such as Shannon Gaels football club in New York, Treasure Island football club in San Francisco, Ruislip in London and the Irish Arts Centre in New York. Through this fund the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has made a major contribution to the Irish Arts Centre in New York together with the City of New York. It should be a very exciting project for Irish people in New York and also for people from this country who will be travelling to New York with various shows, including performing and visual artists. This is a very exciting project.

Since 2003, the Government has awarded over €130 million to Irish organisations all over the world since the establishment of the Irish abroad unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I am not aware of any other government in the world that makes such an investment in its diaspora. The Irish diaspora appreciate this and wherever I have gone they are very quick to acknowledge the support of the Irish taxpayer. This funding is through the emigrant support programme. I am proud that, despite the severe economic downturn of recent years, we maintained ESP funding at significant levels. It made a very strong statement about the commitment of this Government during our time in office that there was no great reduction for our emigrants compared with other programmes in this country.

In 2014 the emigrant support programme provided €11.99 million to 206 organisations, based in more than 20 countries. This funding was provided to non-profit organisations and projects to support Irish communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. Approximately 70% of this funding went to support front-line welfare services, targeted at the most vulnerable members of our overseas community in, for example, mental health services. In conjunction with Pieta House in New York we are providing services for addiction, providing hot meals for people, providing counselling for people and a range of other services that but for this programme would not be available to many Irish people of all age groups.

More than half of the organisations funded are based in the UK, with 38 organisations in the US receiving funding along with 17 in Australia and 12 in Canada. We were delighted to be able to fund an important scheme in Newfoundland this year.

In the past year some exciting things have happened in diaspora engagement. The global civic forum, with representatives of all the communities that receive grant aid coming together in Dublin Castle in June, was a major success. There was serious collaboration between the various groups. They discovered that they had a considerable amount in common and they established that problems that they may face in London may be similar in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Birmingham or Liverpool. We are now encouraging more collaboration between all centres so that they can learn from each other and also share good practice.

In this Chamber we held the Global Irish Parliamentarians' Forum attended by parliamentarians from Capitol Hill, Canada, Australia, the state legislatures in Australia, and also from the assemblies in America and, of course, Westminster. There was a huge contingent here and it was a major success. We got very positive feedback from it. They had a session here in this House and they were very proud that they were the only parliamentarians ever to speak in this House apart from Presidents Clinton, Reagan and Kennedy, and the former Australian Prime Ministers, Mr. Hawke and Mr. Keating, and the former UK Prime Minister, Mr. Blair. So it was very special for them.

Under the Minister's guidance we are now preparing for the global economic forum on 20 November. People will be very proud of the progress the country has made. I have travelled extensively over the past year. Many of our young people who left the country in the past five years are very proud of the country's achievement. They are very proud that we have a budget deficit of less than 2%, which will be eliminated next year. They are very proud that we have the fastest growth rate in Europe. They also look at the ratings from the ratings agencies. For example, in June Standard and Poor's gave Ireland an A+ rating. That was because of our strong growth and debt reduction. That clearly indicates the current Government's economic policies are obviously working.

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