asked the Minister for Labour the number of meetings of DÍON which have taken place in 1989 to date; the date with which DÍON have met; whether they have formulated plans and priorities to administer the additional funds which have been made to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - DÍON, Emigrant Support Group.
49.
In 1989, a sum of £500,000 was included in my Department's Vote for the payment of grants for the provision of advisory services for emigrants. This compared with a sum of £155,000 which was provided in 1986.
In the context of the increased allocation, DÍON decided to undertake a reevaluation of the basic strategy which should underlie their recommendations on future funding for voluntary emigrant welfare bodies. In the course of this exercise, DÍON reviewed the existing provision for emigrant welfare in Britain and considered the best means of identifying currently unmet needs.
As a result DÍON specified a range of priority concerns on which they proposed to focus their attention in evaluating applications and submissions from voluntary organisations. These priorities were determined on the basis of consultations with a wide range of Irish community organisations in Britain. Advertisements were published in the Irish community press featuring information on the grant application process and outlining the committee's key priorities, as follows: front-line advice services for emigrants; outreach services for unemployed youths, travellers, women and children in temporary accommodation; day care centre for the elderly; and special projects to assist the unemployed.
Applicant bodies had to complete a detailed application form whose comprehensiveness was designed, in the main, to limit or obviate the need for having meetings or discussions with representatives of the various emigrant welfare organisations. In some cases, meetings were necessary to examine how previous grants had been applied or where the applicant was unknown to the Committee.
In all, 46 completed applications were received by the committee. Interim payments totalling £294,506 were made last July. The remainder of the grant, amounting to £205,494, will be paid out during the coming month.
The processing of the increased number of applications imposed a heavy burden on DÍON, involving a total of 14 meetings of the committee to date this year. On this basis DÍON met a large number of organisations, both statutory and voluntary, involved in the welfare of Irish emigrants in Britain. I would like to pay tribute and express my appreciation to the DÍON Committee for the excellent work they are doing in relation to emigrant welfare. The membership of the committee is mostly voluntary and involves a major commitment of time and effort.
In the circumstances, I do not consider it would be proper for me to impose further on DÍON for the purpose of obtaining a list of all the groups with which they have had contacts in 1989, nor do I think it would serve any useful purpose to disclose such information even if it were readily available.