Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 July 2014
154. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way his Department ensures Travellers are fully included in the design and delivery of all ESP-funded heritage projects. [31443/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) provides funding to not-for-profit organisations and projects to support Irish communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. A key objective of the ESP is to support culturally sensitive projects and initiatives that address the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable Irish emigrants. The Traveller community is one of the target communities for ESP assistance. The Irish Abroad Unit, which manages the ESP, does not design the projects and programmes for which it provides funding. Instead, it considers whether to provide funding, in whole or in part, for projects and programmes for which applications have been made under specific headings - Capital, Welfare, Welfare-Elderly, Business Networks and Heritage.
My Department is very open to applications from the Traveller community outside of Ireland. This is clear from the fact that the Emigrant Support Programme made grants totalling almost €600,000 to 17 Traveller focused projects in Britain in 2013, with similar amounts granted in the preceding two years.
In the context of the Emigrant Support Programme, "Heritage" projects are those involving the promotion and maintenance of Irish heritage and identity. This includes cultural and sporting activities. In 2013, three of the 17 projects funded in Britain mentioned above were under this heading. These were: The Bristol Playbus which received funding towards its Family Trees project, the Forest Bus Southampton which received funding towards its Irish Traveller Project and The Tricycle Theatre, Camden, London which received funding towards its Speaking Out! Project. Applications for 2014 are currently being processed.
More generally, in terms of the governance of the Emigrant Support Programme, applications received from organisations outside Britain are assessed by staff of the Irish Abroad Unit of my Department in consultation with the relevant Irish Embassy or Consulate. Funding applications from Britain based organisations are in the first instance assessed by the Emigrant Services Advisory Committee (ESAC). Apart from the Chairperson and Secretary, who are officers serving in the Embassy of Ireland in London, the Committee members have a background in the Irish community sector in Britain and serve in a voluntary capacity. The Chair of the Traveller Movement, who is also a former Project Manager of the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain's Traveller Project, currently serves as a member of this advisory committee.
If the Deputy wishes, the staff of the Irish Abroad Unit would be happy to meet with him to outline in more detail the work of the Emigrant Support Programme and the application process.
