Ministers announce €526,000 Community Integration Fund 2019

• €526,000 made available to 124 local community projects nationwide
• projects supported in every county in the State
• additional funding from OPW included this year for art-based integration projects

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton TD, today announced the 124 community projects around the country that will receive funding under the 2019 Communities Integration Fund. A total of almost €526,000 in grant funding has been provided this year. This is the third year of the Communities Integration Fund, bringing the total amount made available to date to over €1.5 million.

Minister Flanagan said: "We are delighted to today announce funding for a wide variety of projects to aid the integration and social inclusion of migrants in communities small and large throughout the State. Since it began in 2017, the Communities Integration Fund has supported a variety of local organisations including sporting organisations, cultural organisations, faith-based groups and volunteer organisations to break down barriers within our communities and reach out to isolated members from both Irish and migrant backgrounds, in particular our growing second and third generation of migrants. Volunteerism is at the heart of these initiatives and plays a key role in its success.”

Every county in Ireland has been allocated funding for locally run projects to support the integration of migrants. The projects granted funding are small community based projects, with a maximum grant amount of €5,000 and a minimum grant amount of €1,000 allocated to any single project. 282 applications were received this year with 124 projects successfully granted funding.

The Communities Integration Fund was first established in 2017 to implement the commitment under Action 51 of the Migrant Integration Strategy to support actions by local communities throughout Ireland to promote the integration of migrants and refugees.

Minister Stanton added: “Over the past two years, I have personally visited some of the projects funded by the Communities Integration Fund and was struck by how great an impact such a relatively modest financial support can have in bringing migrants and their host communities together. I see more and more that organisations from the migrant communities as much as the host community are applying for the Communities Integration Fund. It is welcome proof of how much our host and migrant communities want to work together, building bridges to social inclusion. More importantly these projects create resilient communities, which are key to the well-being and sense of belonging for everyone.”

At today’s launch, representatives of two successful projects, Ferns Diocesan Youth Services from Co Wexford and Tasnuva Shamin Foundation from Dublin 13, had the opportunity to meet with both Ministers and the UNHCR High Commissioner Mr Fillipo Grandi.

€500,000 is usually provided each year for the fund. This year’s fund includes an additional sum of €26,000 from the Office of Public Works for art-based integration projects. This was made possible by the "Per Cent for Art Scheme" under which 1% of capital works can be allocated to commissioning works of art. This is a once off inclusion in the Communities Integration Fund.

The 2019 Communities Integration Fund was launched on the 29th of March this year. The Ministers would like to extend their thanks to all organisations who submitted an application and congratulate all those that have been successful. The process was highly competitive, with a large number of quality applications.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Purpose of projects/activities

This call was open to local community based groups carrying out the following projects/activities:

• intercultural awareness - projects and events that bring host communities and migrant communities together to learn about and celebrate each other’s cultures and customs
• combating racism and xenophobia – interventions aimed at preventing racism and xenophobia among local communities
• sport & community games- projects that seek to facilitate local migrant integration and improve the mental and physical well-being of migrants by encouraging them to get involved in sport
• arts - projects that encourage migrants and local host communities to interact with each other through arts and crafts, music, dance, theatre and literature
• other community events - projects involving a more broad-based community event adapted to be more inclusive of migrants, e.g. a pre-existing annual fair to which migrant specific stalls, entertainment, etc., has been added
• capacity building - projects with a social inclusion focus that seek to help particularly vulnerable groups of migrants overcome specific difficulties (e.g. parenting classes for young migrant parents)
• employment - projects that offer advice on seeking employment and offer employment opportunities through training, sponsorship by local businesses and skills assessment
• integration research - projects that identify local knowledge gaps and carry out local needs assessments so that local community resources for migrant integration can be utilised to the maximum benefit
• food/cuisine - projects that promote interculturalism and integration through the sharing of different cuisines and cooking methods
• education - projects focused on the educational needs of migrants through provision of additional supports to help migrant children to maximise the benefit of their school attendance (e.g. homework clubs) and older migrants to develop their language skills and better orient themselves in Irish society
• transportation - projects that target immobility and social isolation among the migrant population due to an inability to drive or difficulties accessing public and private transport

As this Fund is intended to support the integration of migrant and host communities, all applications had to demonstrate how they will involve both migrant and host communities in the activities proposed. The maximum grant amount that can be applied for was €5,000 and the minimum grant was €1,000.

CIF 2019 - Projects Awarded Grants