Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

153. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way the Traveller community in Britain directly benefits from ESP grant funding, specifically in relation to social mobility; the number of educational training programmes being offered by ESP-funded organisations to assist the Traveller community; and the way Travellers are included in the ownership, governance and design of ESP service provision to their community. [31442/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) provides funding to not-for-profit organisations and projects to support Irish communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. Funding is granted under the following categories: Capital, Heritage, Business Networks, Welfare and Welfare-Elderly. A key objective of the ESP is to support culturally sensitive projects and initiatives that address the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable Irish emigrants.

The Traveller community in Britain is one of the target communities for ESP assistance. In 2013, ESP grants were provided to 17 projects in Britain focused on the Traveller community. These ranged from support for policy making, through the Traveller Movement, to advocacy and outreach services and specific youth projects. These grants totalled €599,404 and a list of the projects supported is provided in the following table. Total ESP funding to programmes in Britain focused on Travellers, over the 2011-2013 period, amounts to over €1.87m (2011 - €613,056 and 2012 - €657,860). Full details for all grants made under the Emigrant Support Programme are available on my Department's website. Grants applications for 2014 are currently being processed.

In terms of the design of projects and programmes, all applications are prepared by the organisations in question; they design their own projects and seek funding for them. The ESP provides funding but does not directly provide services. Funding applications from Britain based organisations are in the first instance assessed by the Emigrant Services Advisory Committee (ESAC). Apart from the Chairperson and Secretary, who are officers serving in the Embassy of Ireland in London, the Committee members have a background in the Irish community sector in Britain and serve in a voluntary capacity. The Chair and founding member of the Traveller Movement, who is also a former Project Manager of the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain's Traveller Project, currently serves as a member of this advisory committee.

Organisations that received ESP funding in 2013 towards projects focused on Travellers in Britain

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

154. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way his Department is ensuring Travellers are fully included in the design and delivery of all ESP-funded heritage projects. [31443/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) provides funding to not-for-profit organisations and projects to support Irish communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. A key objective of the ESP is to support culturally sensitive projects and initiatives that address the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable Irish emigrants. The Traveller community is one of the target communities for ESP assistance. The Irish Abroad Unit, which manages the ESP, does not design the projects and programmes for which it provides funding. Instead, it considers whether to provide funding, in whole or in part, for projects and programmes for which applications have been made under specific headings - Capital, Welfare, Welfare-Elderly, Business Networks and Heritage.

My Department is very open to applications from the Traveller community outside of Ireland. This is clear from the fact that the Emigrant Support Programme made grants totalling almost €600,000 to 17 Traveller focused projects in Britain in 2013, with similar amounts granted in the preceding two years.

In the context of the Emigrant Support Programme, "Heritage" projects are those involving the promotion and maintenance of Irish heritage and identity. This includes cultural and sporting activities. In 2013, three of the 17 projects funded in Britain mentioned above were under this heading. These were: The Bristol Playbus which received funding towards its Family Trees project, the Forest Bus Southampton which received funding towards its Irish Traveller Project and The Tricycle Theatre, Camden, London which received funding towards its Speaking Out! Project. Applications for 2014 are currently being processed.

More generally, in terms of the governance of the Emigrant Support Programme, applications received from organisations outside Britain are assessed by staff of the Irish Abroad Unit of my Department in consultation with the relevant Irish Embassy or Consulate. Funding applications from Britain based organisations are in the first instance assessed by the Emigrant Services Advisory Committee (ESAC). Apart from the Chairperson and Secretary, who are officers serving in the Embassy of Ireland in London, the Committee members have a background in the Irish community sector in Britain and serve in a voluntary capacity. The Chair of the Traveller Movement, who is also a former Project Manager of the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain's Traveller Project, currently serves as a member of this advisory committee.

If the Deputy wishes, the staff of the Irish Abroad Unit would be happy to meet with him to outline in more detail the work of the Emigrant Support Programme and the application process.