Following a meeting early in September with the Irish Immigration Working Committee in New York, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, TD, announced funding of $300,000 for immigration centers in the United States for the year 2002/2003. Minister Cowen  made the following grant awards:
 

Project Irish Outreach, New York
$55,000

Emerald Isle Immigration Center, New York
$55,000

Aisling Irish Center, New York                                 
$14,000

Irish Immigration and Pastoral Center, Philadelphia
$20,000

Philadelphia Immigration Resource Center
$3,000

Irish Pastoral Center, Boston
$48,000     
                                
Irish Immigration Center, Boston
$48,000

Chicago Irish Immigration Support                                        
$12,000

Irish Immigration Pastoral Center, San Francisco
$23,500

Irish Outreach, San Diego
$2,000

Seattle Irish Immigration Support
$2,000

Fáilte Irish Immigration Center, Washington DC
$10,000

Irish Apostolate USA                                           
$7,500
 
 

The grant awards are in recognition of the excellent work by Irish immigration support groups across the United States in providing information, advice and outreach services to Irish immigrants. The funding is a practical expression of the Government's support for these efforts. The announcement brings the total amount allocated to immigrant support organizations in the US by the Irish Government since 1990 to almost US$3.6
million.

The Minister also thanked immigrant assistance groups in the US for its contribution to the Task Force on Policy regarding Emigrants. Minister Cowen said that the Report of the Task Force will be carefully considered and that he hoped that it will mark the start of a new approach to relations with Irish people abroad.

The New York Irish Immigration Working Committee (IIWC) was established by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1987 under the auspices of the Irish Consulate to co-ordinate the activities of the main organizations engaged in the provision of advice to Irish immigrants. The Committee includes senior figures in the New York Irish-American community and representatives of organizations assisting Irish immigrants in the New York and Philadelphia area.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland,  Brian Cowen, T.D., received the Report of the Task Force on Policy regarding Emigrants in Dublin on Aug. 28.  The commitment to establish the Task Force was included in the Program for Prosperity and Fairness. The Task Force was formed in December, 2001 with a mandate to recommend a coherent long-term policy approach to emigration and meeting the needs of emigrants. 

The Task Force covered all aspects of emigration including pre-departure services for emigrants, services overseas, and services for returning emigrants.

The  Task Force undertook a public consultation process and  invited submissions from interested organizations or individuals on any aspect of its terms of reference. A Task Force delegation visited the United States in February of this year and met with a number of immigration advice organizations in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco in order to seek the views of those actively engaged in assisting Irish immigrants in the United States.