Minister Deenihan Visits Irish Community in Paris

Minister for the Diaspora, Jimmy Deenihan, T.D., is in Paris today where he will visit members of the Irish Community including business leaders and cultural organisations.

The Minister will meet with members of the Franco-Irish business network, NetworkIrlande. Minister Deenihan will announce further funding for the Network under the Emigrant Support Programme, bringing to €113,500 the total which has been provided to the organisation since its foundation in 2010. NetworkIrlande supports business development opportunities and knowledge-sharing, thus strengthening the links between French and Irish professionals and companies.

The Minister will also meet with representatives of ‘Gaeltacht-sur-Seine’, an Irish-language club which meets monthly in Paris. ‘Gaeltacht-sur-Seine’ recently organised ‘Samhain-sur-Seine’, a week-long celebration of the Irish language in Paris which also received support from the Emigrant Support Programme.

In addition the Minister will meet with Ms. Nora Hickey, the new Director of the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. The Centre Culturel Irlandais showcases Irish culture in the heart of Paris and facilitates cultural dialogue.

In the course of his visit the Minister will meet French Senator Ms Hélène Conway-Mouret. Senator Conway-Mouret was Minister for the French Overseas from 2012-14 and remains a Senator in the French Sénat representing the French diaspora. She has strong links with Ireland and is a member of the Franco-Irish Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Sénat.

ENDS

Press Office
3 December 2014

Notes for Editors:

Emigrant Support Programme: Since 1984, the Irish Government has given financial support through its Emigrant Support Programme to voluntary agencies providing advice and welfare services to Irish emigrants overseas. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade working through Ireland’s Embassy Network coordinates the provision of support to communities abroad and administers the programme. The main focus for funding under the Emigrant Support Programme remains the frontline welfare service providers that support the elderly, and other vulnerable Irish emigrants. In more recent years the programme has also recognised the importance of strong and active Irish communities more generally, funding projects which foster a sense of community, promoting vibrant networks and a sense of Irishness among the Irish abroad.