Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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190. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the funding supports his Department can provide to support community migrant integration in Drogheda, County Louth following the publication of the Geiran report which highlighted concerns in relation to the current or potential challenges migrant integration is facing in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5212/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Minister for Justice, Ms Helen McEntee T.D., commissioned the Scoping Report into Community Safety and Wellbeing in Drogheda on 21 August 2020 and the Department of Justice is leading on the implementation of the report’s recommendations.

As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has responsibility for migrant integration policy, including the outgoing Migrant Integration Strategy, what has been the central policy framework adopted by Government to promote the integration of all migrants who are legally in the State. As part of its actions under that Strategy, my Department administers a number of funding programmes to support integration at both national and local level.

One such initiative is the National Integration Fund, a three-year funding programme to promote projects that address areas where migrants find it difficult to avail of opportunities on an equal basis with other members of Irish society. Following a competitive funding call launched in August 2020, 18 successful projects located throughout Ireland were granted funding totalling almost €2.2 million over the three year period. This funding will support national organisations and larger-scale initiatives to empower new members of Irish society to play an active part in their communities.

In addition, the Communities Integration Fund, which has been in place since 2017, provides small grants of up to €5,000 to community organisations for initiatives to promote integration at local level. In 2021, almost €500,000 was made available to 111 community-based integration projects nationwide, of which five were based in County Louth. A further funding call is expected to launch in Quarter 2 2022 and will be open to community-based projects nationwide.