Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 December 2020
265. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the full extent of proposed investment in integration over the next five years; the progress to date in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40998/20]
View answerThe Government is committed to the development and nurturing of an all-inclusive society in Ireland. A number of key strategies are helping to promote such inclusion and diversity across Irish society. The Migrant Integration Strategy 2017 – 2020 is one such strategy.
The Strategy targets all migrants who are legally in the State. It contains 76 actions which are delivered by Government Departments, local authorities, local communities, the business sector, sporting and arts organisations and NGOs across a number of policy areas relevant to the integration of migrants, including employment; education and social inclusion. It also addresses racism and xenophobia, representing a whole-of-Government approach. While the Strategy was due to run until the end of 2020 I have decided to extend it until the end of 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its implementation
A number of funding streams are supporting the integration of migrants. These include -
- A National Funding Programme to promote the Integration of migrants. Grants are spread over three years to support the implementation of these projects. The National Integration Fund 2020 was launched on 11 August 2020 with funding of almost €2.2 million available over a three year period. The Fund supports communities to promote the integration of migrants and their children into Irish society and selected projects will help to combat racism and xenophobia.
- The Communities Integration Fund supports local initiatives and 114 projects have received a total of just under €500,000 from the 2020 fund. The Fund has been in place since 2017.
- Funding from European sources, including the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). The 2019 AMIF allocation provided funding of €4,487,919 to 19 projects. The 2019 European Social Fund (ESF) allocation provided funding of €3,288,498 to 5 projects.
In addition, I am very pleased to have secured an additional €0.6m for Refugee and Migrant Integration for 2021. This increase of almost 10% in funding will support initiatives aimed at meeting the needs of refugees and migrants. It will also allow the Irish Refugee Protection Programme to continue its work to resettle refugees from areas of international conflict, particularly Syria.
As Government funding in this area is allocated on a yearly basis it is not possible to indicate what the total level of funding will be over the coming five years.
The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) new programming period will commence in 2021 and will run until 2027. The fund is split over a number of specific objectives, namely:
- Asylum and Integration
- Returns
- Special Cases / Resettlements
Ireland, as with other EU Member States, does not expect to know the allocations available to it for integration activities under that Fund until February 2021.
In addition, mainstream funding is used to promote integration across a range of policy areas such as in relation to health and education.
