Martin Announces Further Funding For Irish Community Projects In The U.S.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Micheál Martin, T.D., this week has announced a $950,000 investment in three major Irish community development projects in the United States.

The Minister also announced a further $130,000 in grants to a number of organisations who provide frontline welfare services to Irish emigrants in the United States.

The Minister's announcement brings total Government Emigrant Support funding to Irish related organisations in the US in 2008 to over $5million.

Making the announcement, the Minister said: "I am today announcing grants for three major Irish community development projects in San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

"Earlier this year, I announced funding for another major Irish community development project in Boston.

"Each of these projects marks a new and exciting phase in the development of the large Irish communities in these cities.

"The involvement of the GAA in each of the projects is pivotal given that the organisation is a key focal point for the Irish community in the US, and it is to be praised for its work within those communities."

"These investments are a strong indication of the enormous value the Government places on supporting our people in the United States and of our firm commitment to building even closer ties with the Irish American community," he continued, 'It is a community to which we in Ireland have on many occasions over the years turned to for advice and practical assistance, all to Ireland's great advantage. It is a community with which we are in building a partnership which will secure the long term future of the Irish community in America

"I know from my own visits to the United States how committed the Irish communities there are to maintaining their own distinctive culture and tradition and their links with Ireland.

"I believe that there is an onus on us to assist them in their efforts. This investment represents a win- win for Ireland and our community in the US."

In addition to these capital and frontline services announcements, the Minister also announced today a grant for the refurbishment of a 1916 Easter Rising monument in Long Island and the payment of the $1million balance of an allocation of $2 million to the Kennedy library in Boston announced by then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern earlier this year.

The Minister continued: "I also know how it is so important that these communities have a focal point where they can meet, particularly for the ageing members of those communities who can so easily become isolated as their social networks splinter and sometimes disappear altogether.

"These are the very people who over the years would have sent substantial amounts in financial remittances back to Ireland and it is important that their contribution not be forgotten."

"These infrastructural investments will benefit all in the Irish -American community, including the undocumented Irish, whose status remains an issue of the highest priority for the Government. I will continue to raise their plight in my contacts with US legislators and with the new US administration," he concluded.

The grants total US$2,105,000, bringing the total for the year to €5,297,106. Since the establishment of the Irish Abroad Unit in 2004, the Department of Foreign Affairs has allocated more than $10 million to organisations working with Irish communities in the United States.

The primary focus of the Emigrant Support Programme administered by the Unit is on supporting organisations which provide frontline welfare, information and advisory services to the most vulnerable members of our overseas communities.

However, progressive increases in the budget have allowed the programme to expand.

It now includes funding for a number of capital and other projects which foster a greater sense of identity and belonging within the Irish community, including culture, heritage and sports projects.

Overall, Government funding for emigrant services in 2008 was €15.183 million, representing a three-fold increase since 2004. Funding for 2009 will remain at this level.