Human rights commission announces recipients of grant funding

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has named the organisations who won funding in the inaugural Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme 2016.

The grant scheme was established to provide financial assistance to bodies to carry out activities to promote human rights and equality.

Almost 300 applications were received and of those, 25 organisations were awarded grants across three strands of funding:

The Sutherland School of Law at University College Dublin was among recipients of funding in the collaboration and dissemination strand, while the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) won funding in the project implementation category.

Emily Logan, chief commissioner of the IHREC, said “The Commission is very pleased to make these funding awards which we believe will make a genuine contribution to creating a more an inclusive Ireland where human rights and equality are respected, protected and fulfilled for everyone, everywhere.

“The grant scheme received a very large amount of applications, which alone tells us there is an incredible appetite and willingness for activities that support a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding. I am very grateful to all the organisations who submitted an application and I encourage them to continue their valuable work.

“The Commission work in a variety of ways to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland ranging from working at the policy level, to working with communities and civil society to monitor and report on people’s real life experiences of human rights and equality on the ground. We believe that by investing in organisations that support this work we can progress and promote the goals of the Commission and I am looking forward to seeing the grantee’s projects activated over the next six to twelve months.”

The full list of grant recipients is published on the IHREC website.