Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 377: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans to harness the power of the Irish diaspora in view of the fact that 34 million people in America registered as Irish-American in the 2005 US census; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37359/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government continues to attach a high priority to the development of relations between Ireland and the global Irish. Through the Emigrant Support Programme, managed by my Department, we have allocated some €60 million to Irish welfare and community organisations across the world since 2004. Of these funds, almost $15 million has been awarded to community organisations in the United States. Successive Irish Governments have built a multilayered relationship with the global Irish which has contributed in significant ways towards the success of the peace process in Northern Ireland and to the development of our economy. As part of our commitment to build on this record of achievement and to further develop a more strategic relationship between Ireland and its Diaspora, the Government convened the Global Irish Economic Forum in Farmleigh on 18-20 September. The full report of the Forum is now available on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs, www.dfa.ie . The overall report contains details of the main themes to emerge; the specific initiatives proposed; and the medium term objectives identified. These initiatives are not formally endorsed by Government, but instead reflect the opinions and suggestions advocated by those who participated at Farmleigh. The Government has also decided to establish a new inter-Departmental Committee of senior officials to consider and take forward the work of the Forum. This group will report to Government. The publication of these reports and the establishment of new mechanisms for progressing the proposals made at Farmleigh are clear demonstrations of our determination to build on the success of the Forum and to develop closer links between Ireland and the global Irish. The Government has also established a specific strategy aimed at further enhancing our relationship with the United States and the Irish community resident in that country. The Strategic Review of Ireland's relationship with the US, launched by the Taoiseach last March, made a number of key recommendations which are now being taken forward by a new Ireland US Strategic Policy Group in Dublin, chaired by myself and bringing together key Departments and Agencies in Dublin. The Government has also established a specific strategy aimed at further enhancing our relationship with the United States and the Irish community resident in that country. The Strategic Review of Ireland's relationship with the US, launched by the Taoiseach last March, made a number of key recommendations which are now being taken forward by a new Ireland US Strategic Policy Group in Dublin, chaired by myself and bringing together key Departments and Agencies in Dublin. It also created an Irish-American Leadership Council in the United States to harness the collective organised leadership of Irish America. I was pleased to chair the inaugural meeting of this Council in New York last week during my visit there.