Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 65: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will put in place additional supports for Irish emigrants, particularly in the areas of further education while abroad and notification of employment opportunities here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20948/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Emigrant Support Programme, administered by my Department, provides funding to non-profit organisations and projects to support Irish emigrant communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. Since 2004 over 80 million Euro has been provided to organisations which provide culturally sensitive, front-line welfare, information and advocacy services to Irish emigrants.

Whilst the provision of education opportunities is not a core function of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, many of the organisations which receive funding through the Emigrant Support Programme assist Irish emigrants in accessing information on both educational and employment opportunities. These services have made a substantive difference to the lives of Irish people living abroad, including through tackling social isolation, and enabling Irish emigrants to access their local, statutory entitlements.

In addition to the grant funding provided to services abroad, the Emigrant Support Programme supports the Crosscare Migrant Project. Crosscare works with intending, existing and returning Irish migrants to assist them in accessing information and services on opportunities and entitlements, before they travel, whilst they are abroad and on return to Ireland. FÁS, the national training and employment authority, provides an online jobs vacancy service through its Jobs Ireland Website www.jobs.ie. This site is available worldwide and can be accessed by Irish emigrants abroad seeking work in Ireland. Our Missions abroad will also provide information to Irish people wishing to access job opportunities at home.

Further, it may be of interest to the Deputy to know that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has provided support to the The Farmleigh Fellowship. The Fellowship is an initiative to emerge from the Global Irish Economic Forum in September 2009. It was developed by a number of Global Irish Network members based in Singapore and provides opportunities for up to 25 Irish graduates 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. There are 23 students currently undertaking the first year of the three year programme which received grant funding of €135,000 under the Emigrant Support Programme.