Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
483. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to set out the governance framework applied to all national and EU-funded migration and integration schemes; the audit standards in force for each scheme; and the dates on which the most recent audits were completed and submitted to his Department. [71131/25]
View answer484. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the outcome indicators, performance metrics and evaluation methods used to assess projects funded under the National Integration Fund, Communities Integration Fund, International Protection Integration Fund and all AMIF-funded actions; and to confirm whether these indicators were met in each year since 2017 to date 2025. [71132/25]
View answer485. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department maintains a central register showing all organisations that receive funding from more than one national or EU-funded integration scheme; if not, to state why no such register exists; and if he will now establish one to ensure oversight and prevent duplication. [71133/25]
View answer486. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if a value-for-money review has been carried out on the National Integration Fund, Communities Integration Fund, International Protection Integration Fund, AMIF-funded actions and ESF+ Integration and Employment measures; and to provide the findings, recommendations and implementation status of any such review. [71134/25]
View answer487. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department intends to publish an annual consolidated report on all migration and integration funding streams, including total expenditure, list of funded organisations, outcomes achieved, audit results and year-on-year comparisons; and if not, to explain the policy basis for this decision. [71135/25]
View answer488. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to detail the compliance checks required before releasing funds under each scheme; the financial reporting obligations placed on grantees; the percentage of grantees that submitted complete and timely accounts in each year since 2017; and the number of cases where payments were reduced, suspended or recovered. [71136/25]
View answer489. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the evaluation reports submitted to the European Commission for all AMIF and ESF+ integration actions; and to confirm whether any recommendations on financial controls, performance measurement or risk management were issued by the Commission to Ireland. [71137/25]
View answer490. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to specify how multi-year grants under migration and integration schemes are monitored over time; the checkpoints used; the criteria for continuation or termination; and the number of projects that were discontinued or amended due to performance concerns since 2017. [71138/25]
View answer491. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department has completed an assessment on the potential consolidation of overlapping migration and integration funding schemes; and to outline the policy analysis undertaken on cost savings, administrative efficiency and improved oversight. [71139/25]
View answer492. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the strengthened spending controls that will be applied to future rounds of the National Integration Fund, Communities Integration Fund, International Protection Integration Fund and EU-backed measures; and to provide the timeline for implementing these controls. [71140/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491 and 492 together.
The Department operates a number of EU and national funding schemes related to migration and integration.
The Department is the Managing Authority of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and beneficiary of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) Integration and Employment of Migrants Action (IEM).
The Department maintains records of all funds administered under its remit, award recipients and all relevant information relating to the process, as outlined below.
All EU and national funding applications are assessed and scored in adherence with assessment criteria which are set out within the published guidelines for applicants. Awards of funds are publicly announced each year, or in accordance with the funding cycle, and details of recipients, projects and amounts awarded are included in publication.
Value for money is one of the criteria under which all funding applications are assessed, where the benefits of the project are appraised against the costs. Expected project outcomes are described in each application for funding and are assessed on their merits.
EU funds are bound by strict regulations that set the oversight framework. An annual performance report must be returned to EU Commission each year for the AMIF national programme.
Grantees of EU funding by the Department are required to submit quarterly operations plans, financial returns/statements, and project performance report during the lifetime of the project.
Desk-based verifications are carried out in respect of all financial and operational reports submitted to the Department. A sample of projects is selected each year for on-the-spot verification. The purpose of the on-the-spot verifications is to ensure that the delivery of the project complies with the terms and conditions of the grant agreement.
EU and nationally funded projects are required to submit final project reports upon completion along with supporting documentation. The final reports are reviewed to assess the performance of the project, whether it met the stated outcomes, and whether the funds were spent as outlined in the original funding application.
Any funding that has been deemed misspent, or underspent, is then recouped by the Department. All funding is subject to internal and external audits. Audits can be conducted by the Internal Audit Division, and the Comptroller and Auditor General.
An annual audit of AMIF expenditure and control systems was completed internally in December 2024. The Community Integration Fund, which has now become part of the Integration Fund, was also audited internally in 2022/2023. Audits of EU funding can also be conducted by Ireland's ESF+ Audit Authority, the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Court of Auditors.
Further information in relation to EU funds and a list of funded operations is available online here:
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/publications/amif-and-esf-funding/#amif-2021-2027-programme
