I am very pleased to be here this evening to launch the Culture Shots radio series broadcast on Near FM and, also, to present FETAC awards to those who made the programmes.
This is all part of a project entitled Intercultural Dialogue through Community Media which is supported by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals. The objective of the project is to deliver four FETAC level 4 training courses in community radio and intercultural media literacy. Participants from each course are supported by Near Media Co-op to produce a series of intercultural radio programmes called Culture Shots.
For me there are a number of notable features about this project.
The first thing that strikes me is its innovative nature. It differs from the normal run of projects that have the objective of promoting integration, valuable and all as they are too. To advance integration and tolerance we must consider availing of all methods and media that may be open to us. Community radio is clearly very significant in that regard because integration happens at the local, community level or not at all.
Of course, the media in general have a major influence on our society. Material which serves to inform us on the diversity of modern Ireland and the different nationalities and ethnicities that make it up and which does so in a fair, non-stereotyped way is hugely valuable in advancing social cohesion and our sense that, ultimately, we form the one interdependent community.
I note too the fact that the project team in this course and in the making of the programmes consists of 4 Irish people and 4 third-country nationals. This, in itself, is important and adds significance to the process of making the programmes aside altogether from the end product.
Another feature that I welcome is the fact that the participants in the course acquire a FETAC qualification in community radio and intercultural media literacy. This is an important outcome because it validates the skills the participants have acquired on the course and gives them something of value for the future.
As I already said, the project is supported by the European Integration Fund. The responsible authority for this Fund in Ireland is located in my Department and Pobal administers the projects on our behalf.
Overall, the Fund provides around €104,000 or 75% of the cost of this project with the balance coming from Near Co-op’s own resources. I want to praise Near Co-op for putting their own resources into the project. I always respect proposals from people who have a financial stake in the venture themselves.
The European Integration Fund and the European Refugee Fund are important instruments in showing solidarity across the European Union in responding to the challenges of immigration from outside the Union and receiving refugees and asylum seekers. Many worthwhile projects would not have happened were it not for these Funds.
From the start of 2014, it is hoped that a new Fund, called the Asylum and Migration Fund, will replace the Refugee and Integration Funds (and the European Return Fund). In many respects it will be similar to the Funds it will replace but it is proposed that the contribution from the Union budget to projects can be up to 75% of expenditure and 90% under specific actions or under certain strategic priorities. This is significant as the standard contribution from the EU at present is 50% with 75% in some cases as happened with Near FM. I would hope that the increased rates of assistance will make it easier for us to avail of our allocation because the national co-financing which needs to be raised will be reduced.
The Regulations providing for this new Fund are only in draft form as yet and are being negotiated in the Council framework. They will need to be approved by the European Parliament too.
More generally, our Programme for Government commits us to promoting policies which integrate minority ethnic groups and which promote social inclusion, equality, diversity and the participation of immigrants in the economic, social, political and cultural life of their communities.
This is a very necessary commitment, all the more so in the light of the 2011 Census. The initial results of the Census show an increase of almost 30% in the number of non-Irish as compared with 2006, so that they now constitute 12% of total population. Many people would have the impression that immigration and the integration of migrants was perhaps no longer an issue of much significance as, say, it was during the years of the Celtic Tiger. That is not so. It is true that many immigrants have left Ireland but there still was a substantial increase in the number enumerated in the 2011 Census and this follows on from an increase of 87% in the intercensal period 2002-2006. It is, therefore, vitally important that we should not neglect the task of building an integrated society in which no one is excluded and where people of whatever origin can live a fulfilled life and, as far as possible, realise their potential.
This is why Near FM and so many other non-government bodies are doing such valuable work in addressing this issue. I want to recognise the huge amount of activity in civil society and within local communities in promoting integration, encouraging interaction of migrants with the host community and, generally, helping people to find their feet in a new country. This has been an initiative that different community organizations, like Near Co-op, have taken on of their own volition and because they saw a need for action to promote the building of a strong, cohesive society embracing people of many different origins.
I am pleased that Near were able to access public funding for this project, in this case from the European Union via my Department. They are one of 23 projects which were awarded funding under the European Integration and Refugee Funds in the most recent round. Many other integration projects have been assisted by my Department over recent years purely from our national resources. It goes without saying that the scope for any kind of funding from the national exchequer is extremely limited at present, however meritorious the objective may be. That is another reason why I will be endeavouring to ensure that the new European Asylum and Migration Fund is a fit for purpose vehicle to support worthy projects in this area.
Of course, the culmination of the integration process is the acquisition of Irish citizenship by naturalisation in the case of those people who wish to take that step. It is now approaching one year since I organised the first formal ceremony ever held in this State to mark the granting of Irish citizenship. That first pilot ceremony took place in Dublin Castle Convention Centre on 24th June 2011. Since that date, 47 ceremonies have been in various venues. Tomorrow 4,000 citizenship applicants will become our newest Irish citizens during four Ceremonies to be held in the Dublin Convention Centre. Before the introduction of citizenship ceremonies, candidates for citizenship were required to make their declaration of fidelity to the Nation and loyalty to the State in the District Court. Becoming an Irish citizen is a significant event which should be marked in a way that reflects the importance and dignity of the occasion and I believe that our Citizenship Ceremonies, which have been greeted with universal approval, are an appropriate way to do so. I am happy to say that I also took a number of steps to expedite the processing of citizenship applications so that people wishing to become Irish citizens are not faced with unacceptably long delays for a decision to be made on their application.
In conclusion, I want to say how much all associated with the Culture Shots radio series are to be commended for their work. I hope the message conveyed in the programmes already broadcast, and those to come, will teach us all about the diverse strands and backgrounds that go to make up the community which Near FM serves and, indeed, Irish society as a whole.
So, with that I will conclude my remarks and proceed to present the FETAC Awards to the worthy recipients.
ENDS