Minister Deenihan opens Honorary Consulate in Perth and announces funding to support Irish emigrants to Australia

Almost €415,000 will be granted to organisations across Australia this year to provide welfare services and support to Irish emigrants, Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Jimmy Deenihan T.D., announced in Perth today.

Minister Deenihan is on a 10-day visit to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth to meet members of the Irish community and to lead an Enterprise Ireland trade mission. Today, he also officially opened the new Honorary Consulate for Western Australia, in Perth. The new Honorary Consul, Mr. Marty Kavanagh, will provide consular assistance to Irish citizens in Western Australia, in addition to information to Western Australians about Ireland.

The funding, which is being granted to 16 organisations who provide services to some of the 70,000 Irish-born people in Australia, is part of the Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Emigrant Support Programme. As part of this programme, grants of €12.5 million will be provided this year to support the Irish community around the world.

Speaking from Perth, Minister Deenihan said:

“The funding will support frontline welfare organisations to help members of the Irish community, particularly those who are elderly or vulnerable. Funding has also been made available to organisations that help foster Irish identity within our community. Of course, assistance to the most vulnerable would not be possible without the ongoing, dedicated work of the Irish Australian support bureaus and other organisations here in Australia. I thank you for your important work in supporting our community here.

“I also acknowledge the work being done by organisations to promote Irish culture and preserve our heritage in Australia. Australia is often dubbed ‘the most Irish country in the world outside of Ireland’ and the stories of successive Irish emigrants and their descendents form an important part of Australian history. In the 2011 census, nearly 2.1 million Australians indicated they had Irish ancestry. I am delighted that these grants will help to increase interest and understanding of that heritage and enhance our connections with the global Irish community.”

The largest single recipients in Australia are the Irish Australia Welfare Bureau and Resource Centre, Sydney (€119,492); the Irish Australian Support and Resource Bureau, Melbourne (€99,656) and the Irish Australian Support Association of Queensland (€58,946). Thanking all those delivering frontline services to the Irish community the Minister noted:

Minister Deenihan added:

“The announcement last month of €12.5 million in next year’s budget to support emigrants and engage with the diaspora worldwide is a significant achievement. It means we can maintain the level of Emigrant Support Programme funding and we have secured an additional €1 million for new diaspora projects and initiatives.

While in Perth, Minister Deenihan will also present a Certificate of Irish Heritage to Alan O’Meara, former President of the Irish Club of Western Australia. In Melbourne last Wednesday the Minister presented a Certificate to Marion O’Hagan, Administrator at the Irish Australian Support and Resource Bureau, Melbourne. Both have given long service to the Irish community in Australia.

The Minister remarked:

“The Certificate of Irish Heritage represents an important acknowledgment and appreciation by the Irish State of the strong and enduring connection to Ireland felt by descendents of previous generations of Irish citizens. As I presented the Certificates to Marion and Alan it brought home to me how much Irish heritage means to so many.”