Vol. 452 No. 4
21 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the steps. If any, the State is taking to relieve, assist and counsel homeless young Irish people who have emigrated to Great Britain in search of work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6733/95]
The Government recognises that a minority of Irish people in Britain encounter severe difficulties either on arrival or at a later stage. To assist them, there is a scheme of Government grant aid to Irish welfare organisations in Britain. These grants are made by me on the basis of recommendations submitted by DÍON, the Advisory Committee on the Irish Community in Britain. The DÍON committee, which was set up in 1984, comprises eight members, six of whom are based in Britain, and they consider applications for funding received from a large number of Irish welfare organisations in Britain.
I met with the members of the DÍON committee on 27 February, 1995 and they explained to me the problems encountered by Irish immigrants in Britain and particularly the difficulties experienced by the homeless.
In the 1994 allocation of DÍON grants, 12 organisations which received funding concentrate primarily on the needs of the homeless, mainly through day-centres or through direct provision of accommodation. There are four Irish housing associations in London providing accommodation to single people and families and all of these have received grant aid from the Irish Government for research or advice work.
