Vol. 498 No. 4
108 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 86 of 5 November 1998, his views on whether the refugees projects to date have proved very successful; the positive aspects of these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27263/98]
I believe the various refugee support projects referred to by the Deputy have been generally successful. Of course, some projects, such as the English language training for the Vietnamese community, have been in operation for some years and, naturally, have been reviewed.
In 1996, with the significant growth in numbers of refugees, the Refugee Agency and the Department of Education and Science commissioned a report into English language training for refugees generally by the Centre for Language and Communications Studies in Trinity College. The report recommended greater co-ordination and the development of more formal systems including, for adults, the development of teaching materials, measurement of progress and a systematic process for progression from English language into vocational training and employment.
Following on these recommendations, a refugee language support unit is being established to oversee and further develop all aspects of educational support and English language training for all refugees. The unit will be funded by the Department of Education and Science and will be managed by Trinity College. It will subsume the Interact Ireland Project mentioned in my earlier reply of 5 November. That project, which has been providing special bridging courses for refugees, combining English language training, training in basic computer skills and job search skills, has been very successful. In operation as a pilot project since 1996, it has assisted over 100 refugees, with 87 per cent of participants progressing to employment or mainstream FÁS courses.
