Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Nov 2003

Vol. 573 No. 3

Written Answers. - Departmental Funding.

John Deasy

Ceist:

559 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he intends to make funds available in 2003 to the Immigration Council of Ireland which has been funded by his Department in the past; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24821/03]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

The funding of €150,000 given by my Department to the Immigrant Council of Ireland was a special budgetary measure made in the context of the establishment of that organisation.

As the Deputy will be aware, the brief of the Immigrant Council of Ireland extends to servicing the needs of a very broad range of non-nationals and is not confined to asylum seekers and refugees. Funding for these target groups is, in the main, provided by the European refugee fund for which my Department is the responsible authority. I understand that an application was made to the fund earlier this year from Social Innovations Ireland which operates under the auspices of the Immigrant Council of Ireland. Having been considered by a selection committee made up of both Government and non-Government agen cies, that application was not successful. Against this background, I have no proposals for funding the council.