Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The responsibilities to be assigned to me as Minister of State for integration and priority work in these responsibilities are as follows. The Government commits to publishing a national action plan against racism for Ireland. An independent anti-racism committee established by Government in 2020 has created a draft action plan against racism supported in its work by the Department. We plan to launch that plan next month.

The Government is committed to developing a successor to the migrant integration strategy and planning is under way. Consultation for the new strategy will begin shortly and will include input from migrants, Irish citizens with a migrant background, international protection applicants and refugees. The strategy is expected to be published in 2024.

In 2022, the EU agreed to extend the asylum, migration and integration fund, AMIF, 2014 to 2020 programme in response to the refugee crisis arising from the conflict in Ukraine. A call for proposals for projects under AMIF is planned in 2023. The exact budget is to be determined.

As committed to under the White Paper to end direct provision and to establish a new international protection support service, a new international protection integration fund was launched in 2022. This fund offered grants to civil society organisations for projects supporting the integration of international protection applicants. More than €1.6 million in funding was awarded to 67 organisations in 2022. A second fund will be launched later in 2023.

Regarding community engagement and integration capacity building, I am acutely aware from today's proceedings and wider news that communities are anxious to have as much information as possible if and when an accommodation facility is due to come to their area. I understand this need and can confirm that a process has started in the Department of the Taoiseach whereby officials in my Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development are engaging to see how relevant Departments can assist in strengthening the community engagement function.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Since its establishment in 2015, the Department's Irish refugee resettlement programme has worked with local authorities and communities to house and provide integration support to approximately 4,100 programme refugees resettled throughout Ireland.

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