Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Seán Fleming TD, has announced details of over £6.4 million (€7.68 million) in Emigrant Support Programme funding to 113 organisations for some 200 projects supporting the Irish community in Britain.
The Minister thanked the organisations for the remarkable contribution they make to the Irish community across Britain, from providing frontline support to the most vulnerable within our community, to promoting Irish culture and heritage across Britain.
Speaking at the Irish Embassy in London, Minister Fleming said: “I am delighted to have this opportunity to mark 20 years of the Emigrant Support Programme worldwide, and 40 years of support to the Irish community in Britain by announcing this funding. I want to take this opportunity to express the continued and deep gratitude of the Irish Government to the Irish Community in Britain for your work and the meaningful impact it has. Your true success is measured by the countless lives that have been supported and enriched through the work of your organisations, now and in the past.
“This comes at a time of renewal of the British Irish relationship, a key aspect of which is strengthening our people to people links, as emphasised by the Tánaiste in recent weeks.”
Minister Fleming also acknowledged the work of organisations assisting survivors of institutional abuse in Britain, stating: “I would like to thank all those providing dedicated support to the survivor community here in Britain, particularly those organisations helping survivors access the Mother and Baby Institution Payment Scheme. I know the funding I am announcing today through the Government’s Emigrant Support Programme comes at an important time for you and those you support.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Minister Fleming said: “In response to feedback from organisations, I am delighted to announce that we are expanding the threshold for the Small Grants Scheme in 2025, allowing organisations seeking up to £25,000 in funding to benefit from less complex application and reporting procedures.”
ENDS
Press Office
24 October 2024
Notes to editors:
Since 1984, the Irish Government has given financial support to voluntary agencies providing advice and welfare services to Irish emigrants overseas.
Delivery of the strategy is supported by the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP), which is managed by the Irish Abroad Unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs. Since its inception in 2004, the ESP has assisted more than 850 organisations in 51 countries, with total grants of more than €237 million.
Over the course of the Strategy, the emphasis of the ESP has remained on supporting culturally sensitive, frontline welfare services, targeted at the most vulnerable members of our overseas communities. It has also supported support of cultural, heritage and Irish Studies projects.