Doras Luimní was set up in 2000 in response to a need in the Limerick region to provide asylum seekers, refugees and migrants with sanctuary and support. Its aims are to open doors to all, providing individual support while informing and involving the local community in areas relating to migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, multiculturalism and racism, and to work with the statutory and voluntary bodies in planning and implementing programmes to support asylum seekers and refugees.

Front line service providers. employers, migrants, and the general public benefit from better understanding of the issues and challenges facing migrant workers.

Past clients include:

• Civil service and state bodies
• NGOs, Community and Voluntary sector
• Education institutions and organisations
• Private organisations and businesses

Training is provided for frontline service providers on four key areas:

• Intercultural Awareness Training. 
• Immigration Law and Policy.
• Migrants’ Rights and Entitlements.
• Migrants and Access to Education.

An important feature of Doras Luimní’s training courses is that each training module is designed to meet the exact need of the client organisation. Therefore, training modules are produced in consultation with clients.

Options

1. In-house organisation based training, scheduled and designed according to the organisations own needs.
2. Scheduled workshops– pre-set calendar that people from all organisations can attend

Since 2009 over 250 people have attended training sessions.

Although based primarily in Limerick, sessions have been provided further afield in Tralee and Dublin.

An evaluation survey is received from everyone who attends the training. Sometimes issues arise around venue and catering, but feedback about the training is uniformly good.

One key learning has been to offer tailored intercultural training for migrants which Doras Luimni plan to roll out over the summer.

At the moment training is only offered locally as there are other migrant support groups working in other areas, but Doras Luimni would like to provide training to every service provider in the Limerick area.

The following is an extract from the 2010/2011 progress report for the Integrating Limerck program:

The Office of the Minister for Integration (OMI) provided funding of €55,000 to support the delivery of integration actions in 2011. Among the actions funded by the OMI:

(i) Development of the Mid-West Interfaith Network to promote interfaith dialogue and mutual understanding of different religious traditions
(ii) Strengthening and building capacity of grassroots migrant networks in Limerick
(iii) An inaugural Intercultural Week (May 21-29) which provided a unique opportunity to celebrate the contribution migrants are making to the social, cultural and economic life of Limerick
(iv) Training to support ethnic entrepreneurs to developing businesses and provide
employment in the Limerick region
(v) Leadership training to empower migrant communities
(vi) Limerick Language Alive Week (Oct 17-23) a weeklong calendar of events which enabled people of all ages and nationalities to join in celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of language in their community by participating in activities that brings language alive, helps to connect communities and breaks down communication and cultural barriers

This activity funded through Doras funding, AP and One Foundation. Participants are generally not charged for the training.