| Díon Fund is Really Making a Difference
By Joe Horgan
In the wake of the London bombings Ireland’s Minister for Foreign
Affairs Dermot Ahern offers the nation’s sympathy to the victims while also
looking ahead to the announcement of this year’s Díon Fund allocations.
Last week the people of London endured a horrific attack which shocked
the world. It was an act of barbarism on innocent people going about their
daily lives.
Nothing can ever justify such a cowardly deed and I conveyed the sincere
sympathies of the Irish people to the Northern Secretary, Peter Hain, when
I met him in Belfast on that tragic day.
Our thoughts and prayers are, of course, with all of the injured and
bereaved.
I have been working with the staff at the Irish Embassy in London to
make sure that anxious Irish families have all the support and assistance
they need. Our offices have been liasing with the Central Casualty Bureau
and officials have been talking to the hospitals treating the seriously
injured. We have also kept in touch with the main Irish Centres in London
to make sure that the community as a whole is fully aware of the services
on offer.
I want to put on record our deep appreciation for the professional response
of the emergency services and to pay tribute to the bravery and stoicism
displayed by the people of London in the aftermath of the attacks. The horrific
events of last week have also prompted numerous acts of generosity and comfort
from within the Irish community. We often feel the need to come together
for mutual support in the face of adversity and we can be proud of the way
the Irish in London played their part in the city’s response.
One of the primary goals of my Department is to protect the interests
of Irish citizens abroad, and to maintain and strengthen links with people
of Irish ancestry. This week I am in London to talk to Irish community representatives
from across the country and to announce this year’s allocations from the
Díon fund — the Irish government’s fund for voluntary agencies facilitating
access to welfare and statutory services for members of the Irish community
in Britain.
This year the Díon fund is in the region of £5million and funding is
being given to over 100 agencies involved in 124 different projects. This
includes the funding of 48 new projects from first time applicants. The
geographical spread is broader this year with projects stretching for the
first time beyond London and the Midlands to Newcastle and Scotland.
Our priority continues to be front-line agencies providing services for
the most vulnerable in our community. The emphasis remains on support for
the elderly. Several projects involving the Travelling community are also
included. Supporting capacity building in the Irish voluntary sector, in
particular through the Federation of Irish Societies in particular, remains
a priority.
For the first time, capital projects are eligible for support where it
is acutely needed and no other option exists. Cultural, educational and
sporting projects which provide a benefit to the local community are now
eligible for funding and figure prominently among this year’s projects.
The dramatic increases in the size of the fund in recent years, coupled
with the new rules allowing investment in capital projects and cultural,
educational and sporting events, mean that we can now say that Díon is having
a real impact on the lives of our most vulnerable emigrants across the country.
I was able to witness this at first hand when I visited Safe Start and
the Cricklewood Homeless Concern in December. The scale and scope of the
assistance provided by the Díon fund is unprecedented and I am confident
this trend will only continue, given our commitment to tackling exclusion
and bringing aid to the marginalised.
Our thanks are due to the members of the Díon Committee who work quietly
behind the scenes making sure the resources available are put to best use.
But we are also deeply appreciative of the wonderful work undertaken
week in and week out by volunteers in agencies up and down the country.
Díon funding makes a huge difference but without the volunteers we would
not be able to talk in terms of an Irish community. Most of the volunteers
work through agencies affiliated to the Federation of Irish Societies (FIS),
the umbrella group for Irish organisations in Britain.
The FIS is a credit to all of us in how it brings so many people together
in the pursuit of good causes and to lobby on behalf of the most vulnerable
and needy among us.
The FIS is working closely with the Irish Abroad Unit established in
the Department of Foreign Affairs to protect the interests of Irish citizens
abroad and I am pleased that, by listening carefully to all of the interested
parties, the Unit is making progress on the recommendations of the Government’s
Task Force on Emigrant Services.
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