Athlone-based refugee and asylum seeker support group receives funding boost

Athlone-based New Horizon - Athlone Refugee & Asylum Seeker Support Group has received a €100,000 allocation from the International Protection Integration Fund 2024

Minister of State for Community Development, Integration and Charities Joe O’Brien today announced 56 projects to be funded under the scheme.

Among them is New Horizon, which is a community group working with international protection applicants in Athlone since 2000.

Nationally, some €2.5 million will be made available to the 56 organisations for projects supporting International Protection applicants

The fund helps community-based organisations to play a greater role in supporting the integration of International Protection applicants at local and national level. The fund comes after other three other sets of integration supports were announced this year by Minister Joe O’Brien; the National Integration Fund (NIF), the Asylum Migrant Integration Fund (AMIF), and the Community Integration Fund (CIF).

Minister O’Brien has doubled the fund compared to 2023 when awards of €1.2 million were disbursed. Minister O’Brien acknowledged the exceptional efforts of community and voluntary groups to help facilitate integration in communities of International Protection Applicants.