Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 154: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress he has made in implementing the overseas graduate programme as outlined in the Global Irish Forum report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44669/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Participants at the Global Irish Economic Forum, held at Farmleigh in September 2009, expressed strong support for the development of new structured opportunities abroad for Irish graduates. The Farmleigh Fellowship programme was one such initiative to emerge from the Forum. It was developed by a number of participants based in Singapore and launched in May of this year.

The new programme will provide 25 Irish graduates with the opportunity to work in Asia on placement with a broad range of international companies for four months and to participate in a joint MSc degree from University College Cork and the Nanyang Business School of the Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. It is expected that participant orientation in companies will take place in Ireland over the coming weeks with academic work beginning in January in UCC. The Fellowship has developed a number of productive strategic partnerships in the course of bringing the programme to this stage, including with Enterprise Ireland and IBEC, and provides an innovative model through which the next generation of Irish businesspeople can take advantage of the enormous opportunities that exist in Asia.

The Fellowship has been awarded €135,000 under the Emigrant Support Programme administered by my Department and has raised significant additional funds through participating companies. There are a number of other Government sponsored graduate programmes in operation at present, including those offered by Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia. In recent weeks, the Government funded Irish Technology Leadership Group has announced its intention to establish a mentoring programme for graduates in the field of technology in partnership with the support of private sector sponsorship. My Department, in close consultation with members of the Global Irish Network, will continue to explore ways in which opportunities for Irish graduates abroad may be expanded.