Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he has taken to strengthen links with people of Irish ancestry since 1 January 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29331/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Reaching out to and strengthening links with our communities abroad, and with those of Irish ancestry, is a cornerstone of Government policy. The establishment and operation of the Irish Abroad Unit within the Department of Foreign Affairs has greatly enhanced our capacity to develop and implement long term policies aimed at building relations and providing practical and financial assistance to our Irish communities overseas. Officials in our diplomatic missions have been, and continue to be, extremely active in this regard and work closely with Irish community organisations across a wide range of important issues.

The funding of community groups working with emigrants is an essential and positive element in strengthening our outreach to the wider "Irish Family" worldwide. The very substantial level of funding now available — over €15 million in 2007 — to assist in the provision of services and support to vulnerable Irish, helps also to promote and sustain valuable community structures into the future.

While the primary emphasis of Government funding continues to be directed at supporting frontline welfare services in Britain and the United States, I am pleased that the additional funding available in recent years has made it possible for me to broaden the range of projects and extend the geographic reach of our activity. In the past year, for example, I have been happy to approve funding for Irish community organisations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, and to support organisations who promote Irish heritage and cultural activities in Argentina, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Government support for these projects represents an acknowledgement and appreciation of the role that generations of Irish, past and present, who have settled across the globe, have played in developments abroad and at home.

In April of this year, I called for a national debate on our attitude to our Diaspora at a conference on this important subject which I hosted in Dublin Castle. The conference provided the opportunity to launch a review of our overall approach to our community across the globe and, where necessary, reshape our policies in this key area. In this regard, I provided support, including financial, for the US-Ireland Forum held in New York on 7-8 November, which included discussion of the relationship with our Diaspora.

As we near the end of 2007, the plight of our undocumented citizens in the US continues to be of the utmost concern to the Government. The Government has been steadfast in its support for the undocumented. The Taoiseach and myself have used every possible opportunity to advocate on their behalf and will continue to do so in the future.

Officers in the Irish Abroad Unit and at our Embassies and Consulates abroad help to keep our people abroad in touch with Ireland and with each other. They will continue to maintain very close and interactive contact with front-line organisations that support our community abroad. This helps to ensure that the Irish voluntary sector around the world has an effective channel of communication with the Government, and that everything possible gets done to advance the interests and well-being of our overseas communities.