Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am particularly delighted to be here today to show my support for a programme which clearly demonstrates the quality of collaborative synergy which can be achieved when different skills, experience and perspectives are brought together to help in addressing one of our most significant national projects - that of integrating all our newcomers into a new and strong Irish society. This collaboration involving Business in the Community in Ireland and their partners, my Department, and members of our new ethnic communities - is a solid step in that direction.
I should say at the very outset that collaboration between all stakeholders in society is at the very heart of successful integration. I have long held the view, supported by the recent NESC report on migration policy, that integration is not a project which is exclusively for Government. Yes, Government needs to give leadership. Yes, Government needs to provide resources. Yes, Government needs to develop appropriate structures and forums for dialogue. We have already started and will, of course, continue to do all these things. But yet our success will continue to be limited if there is not a shared understanding that securing an integrated society is everyone's business and not just a matter for Government.
It is the business of those of us who have always lived on this island to understand and welcome our newcomers - resisting with integrity the path of racism and its many unfounded myths. It is the business of our newcomers to show the same levels of understanding and to actively seek and embrace opportunities for themselves and their families. It is the business of all leaders in society, whether political, religious or community-based, to lead by example in displaying tolerance and generating a positive spirit of responsible engagement with the variety of sensitive and complex issues involved in integration. And finally, it is the business of our corporate community to take on the commercial case for diversity in the workforce and to establish and develop their critical role as one of the many partners involved in moving towards a cohesive society.
It is in this context of multiple stakeholders playing vital and complementary roles that I would now like to say a few words about this specific project. I mentioned at the beginning of my speech that I was particularly glad to be here. This was not meant as a form of politeness but rather a genuine appreciation of the way in which this project has a unique blend of elements - especially the involvement of the business sector. I do believe that the corporate community has real commercial advantages to be gained from promoting diversity - both in terms of its staff and its customers. I cannot say this often enough. In a recent speech in the context of the seventh anti-racist workplace week, I referred to a European Commission survey which found that of the 495 companies surveyed, the majority (83%) felt that diversity initiatives have a positive impact on their business and regard their commitment to diversity as a matter of ethics, progressive outlook and good management practice. This perspective is, I believe, particularly critical to this country and to the present phase of its economic development. We have new talents, energies and skills at our disposal like never before. Let us use them. Business in the Community is showing us one way to move in that direction.
So let's look at the project. It is directed at the parents of Irish born children who have leave to remain in Ireland based on a scheme which I introduced last year. Approximately 18,000 people qualified under this scheme but it is perhaps less well- known that several thousand are lone parents - mainly women. This group needed a special blend of supports to help make them economically self-sustaining. For example, most lone parents have a strong preference for part-time training and due regard to be had for their family circumstances. I am happy to say that a combination of inputs from the Gender Equality Division and the Reception and Integration Agency of my Department together with Business in the Community - has led to a joint initiative called "Business in the Community Programme supporting Employment for Parents of Irish-Born Children", or EPIC for short.
While Business in the Community have proven experience with other groups in this area, the project is piloting a method of engaging with these parents - particularly those who are lone parents, and is designed to help them achieve quality employment. A range of carefully tailored supports will include three-week English language orientation sessions, a further 3-week life and work- skills sessions and psychosocial supports as needed. This will be backed up by mentors recruited and matched with participants.
Business in the Community has carried out intensive market research on their client group before finalising the programme. The end result is an effective programme which has strong support from a range of NGOs and social partners who include SPIRASI, Blanchardstown Area Partnership, One Family and AkiDwa who bring the perspective of African women to the project. We have much to learn from this pilot and the evaluation will be of interest to a number of areas of Government policy including integration, gender equality and the labour market.
With a focus on Dublin city centres and suburban areas which have a high concentration of the client group, the pilot will run until September 2007. It is supported by a budget of just over half a million euro - funded by the equality for women measure of the National Development Plan and co-funded by the European Social Fund. I should mention also that my Department is using the Dormant Accounts Funds to finance similar country-wide employment-related projects for those who obtained leave to remain under the 'Irish born child scheme' which I mentioned earlier. The funding here is also half a million euro and the projects are being implemented through local partnerships.
Recent research points to an increasing positive attitude towards newcomers in Ireland. Their contribution to Irish society, at a cultural as well as at an economic level, is being recognised and I share the sense of optimism emerging from these studies as we forge a more diverse Ireland.
Within this programme, this positive attitude is being converted into action which makes a real difference in people's lives. I commend those employers who are already a part of this powerful initiative which offers special supports to groups, which for one reason or another need support in developing a route to employment. I hope that many more companies will swell their ranks. Indeed I urge the corporate sector as a whole to build on this initiative and to fulfil their critical role in building an inclusive Ireland in the years ahead.
My thanks to Tina Roche and her team in Business in the Community Ireland for inviting me to take part in this event. In wishing the EPIC project well, I know it builds on the success already achieved with the Linkage Programme where over 2000 ex offenders were placed in education, training and employment since the programme's inception. I am, therefore, confident that it will be just as successful.
May I make one final point: Ireland's new demographics offer us so many new challenges and opportunities in developing and enriching our society. Other countries experiences show that while the opportunities can be developed for the benefit of all, the challenges are not to be taken lightly. There are no off the shelf simple answers or formulae for integrating new communities into established societies. I believe, however, that a number of things are clear. We must talk to each other carefully and with respect. We must listen to each other, again, carefully and with respect. But above all, we must work with each other for the common benefit of our new Irish society and find increasingly imaginative ways of deepening our collaboration in this regard. The EPIC programme is, I am convinced, an excellent example of such imaginative collaboration.
I have great pleasure in formally launching the EPIC programme. Thank you.
20 November 2006