Minister Joe O’Brien opens Welcoming New Communities event and announces new Community Connection Project

• Over 150 delegates from Local Development Companies, the Community and Voluntary sector and national representative organisations attend the event in Dublin Castle
• Local Development Companies and voluntary groups present diverse examples of initiatives welcoming and supporting the integration of New Communities
• Minister announces a further €1m in funding for delivery of supports to New Arrivals
• Minister announces a new €3m programme to support communities, the Community Connection Project

Minister of State for Community Development, Integration and Charities, Joe O’Brien, TD, today (Monday 15^th July 2024) opened the Welcoming New Communities event in Dublin Castle. Organisations from across Ireland gathered to discuss challenges and barriers to integration efforts and share best practice and innovative solutions for migrant integration supports in local communities. 

The purpose of the event was to provide opportunities for community organisations to present diverse examples of integration initiatives, facilitating in-depth discussion on effective approaches, sharing best practice on tackling misinformation and to promote networking, knowledge sharing, understanding and appreciation of the variety of community based migrant integration initiatives being delivered.

Speaking in the Hibernia Conference Centre in Dublin Castle, Minister O’Brien said:

“My hope for today is that, in facilitating robust discussions on those questions, pinpointing initiatives that have been highly effective and identifying barriers and blockages to better implementation, we can collectively start to form new solutions to carry impactful integration and inclusivity initiatives forward into the future.

The value of having so many stakeholders in the room truly can’t be understated, as we engage and work together to tackle the challenges and support communities in welcoming and integrating new arrivals.”

Internationally renowned speaker Tim Dixon, co-founder of More in Common presented a keynote speech on the value of positive integration of new arrivals to our communities and managing concerns and conflict, with additional presentations from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Local Development Companies and Volunteer Centres delivering supports to new arrivals.

An exhibition highlighting the sector’s work with migrants and their lived experience of engaging with Irish communities was on display at the event.

Minister O’Brien also announced an additional €1m in funding for the continued delivery of social inclusion supports under the governments social inclusion programme SICAP to New Arrivals for the remainder of 2024.

Speaking on the importance of addressing community concerns and tackling misinformation on migrant integration, Minister O’Brien announced a new project, the Community Connection Project, with funding of €3m over 2024 and 2025. The Community Connection Project (CCP) will support the recruitment of up to 30 Community Link Workers, employed by Local Development Companies, who will engage and work with local communities across Ireland over an 18-month period with a view to helping communities respond to the arrival of International Protection Applicants.

Making the announcement, the Minister said I am delighted to announce today the creation of a new project, the Community Connection Project, with a budget of €3m to be spread over the remainder of 2024 and on to the end of 2025. “The Community Link Workers will help build community resilience against misinformation and prejudice by working with the local community before, during and after the arrival of International Protection Applicants. The workers will also liaise closely with the Community Engagement Team of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), along with other key stakeholders, including the Local Authority Integration Teams (LAITs).

The Minister continued:

I have always maintained that grassroots community connections and efforts are the bedrock upon which any successful integration measures will be, and are being, built. I am very pleased to put in place this additional programme to support those Trojan efforts that happen daily in communities across Ireland.to build resilient, diverse and welcoming communities into the future.”

ENDS

Contact:

The Department of Rural and Community Development Press Office

01-773 6843 / 087-1734633

Notes to editors:

• The Department of Rural and Community Development hosted an event highlighting ongoing work in the Community and Voluntary Sector in supporting migrant integration, tackling misinformation around migration and workshopping new solutions to barriers and challenges with implementation.
• An additional €1m in funding has been secured for delivery of SICAP supports to New Arrivals for the remainder of 2024.
• The Department of Rural and Community Development will be engaging with SICAP Programme Implementers to ensure adequate funding distribution to support numbers of New Arrivals locally across Ireland.

Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP)

• The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention. This is a national programme that is delivered in both rural and urban areas by Local Development Companies (LDCs) to help those in the greatest need. 
• SICAP aims to address high and persistent levels of deprivation through targeted and innovative, locally-led approaches.

Community Connection Project

• The Community Connection Project (€3m funding over 2024 and 2025) will recruit up to 30 community link workers who will engage and work with local communities across Ireland over an 18-month period, with a view to helping communities respond to the arrival of significant numbers of IPAs.
• Workers will help build community resilience against misinformation and prejudice by working with the local community before, during and after the arrival of International Protection Applicants.
• Workers, employed by Local Development Companies (LDCs), will help communities to understand the facts and realities of the International Protection System and the challenges faced by people seeking asylum, in the context of communities with their own needs and challenges.
• Allocations of workers will be based on the number of IPAs (per DCEDIY figures as of 24 June 2024) mapped to SICAP Contract Areas. It should be noted that not every LDC area will be allocated a worker, with some areas sharing the resource.
• A key duty of the community link workers will be to liaise closely with the Community Engagement Team of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), along with other key stakeholders, including the Local Authority Integration Teams (LAITS). It is important to ensure that the proposed Community Link Workers are working to complement the national effort on Community Engagement.
• The Project will be supported by a small centralised oversight and co-ordination team, comprised of a Co-ordinator and an Administrator, employed by the Irish Local Development Network CLG (ILDN), the representative body for Local Development Companies.
• In parallel with the community work aspect of the project, a piece of research will be conducted by the project coordinator in conjunction with the community link workers. The research will examine effective ways of healing division within communities and support community members to be aware of and resilient to divisive narratives and misinformation.
• Throughout the 18-month duration of the project, all community workers will convene for an in-person engagement on three occasions, facilitated by the Co-ordinator, to share their learning and challenges, and contribute to the evolving development of community work across Ireland, as well as development of the whole-of-government response to the arrival of significant number of International Protection Applicants in recent years.