Sir Terry Wogan Backs The Campaign
The Irish Welfare Information Centre, Digbeth sees the Birmingham Launch of the Irish in Britain Census campaign today.
The campaign, headed by the Federation of Irish Societies, has the backing of more than 50 MPs – some of Irish descent, and others that represent constituencies with solid Irish communities. A number of Irish celebrities including Mick McCarthy and Sir Terry Wogan have given the campaign their backing. In addition, the campaign is sponsored by Kerrygold, Irish travel operator Enjoy Travel, and Tourism Ireland. The campaign also has the support of community, as well as voluntary and business leaders.
The idea of the campaign is to motivate Irish people, and anyone of Irish descent, to “tick the Irish (ethnicity) box” of their Census return. In the 2001 Census there was a considerable underestimate of the number of Irish in Britain that resulted in funding difficulties for the community.
Jennie McShannon, CEO FIS, said that for many years, the Irish community has been lacking full representation, and the aim of this campaign is to change that. She said that there is excitement concerning the possibilities of this campaign, allowing us to interact with the Irish people of different generations as well as those of mixed heritage throughout the Irish community.
Birmingham MP Steve McCabe and Dr. Geraldine Hammersley of Coventry University will be among the speakers participating in the launch, also attending will be various voluntary and community organisations from within the Midlands region.
Chief Executive of the IWIC, Hugh Tibbits, feels the campaign launch will help to increase awareness in the community of the significance of the census. He explained that the information gathered from the census can help steer long term planning by Government concerning the requirements of various communities. He went on to say that by ticking the box and proudly proclaiming our Irishness we bolster the Irish community’s voice for years to come.
Helen White, Community Development Officer for the Federation of Irish Societies said: “I believe that accurate recording of ethnic origin in the census is so important for all of us, but especially for Irish people and their descendents. Just one of the many reasons is the health factors which can be inherited, such as Haemochromatosis and Celiacs Disease both of which are prevalent in the Irish population.
The population statistics taken from the Census influences for a whole decade how welfare services are planned and resourced, so it is important that the statistics are accurate and the Irish community is counted in. But filling in the Census 2011 form is not immediately obvious for second and third generation Irish and you need to think about it. For example, I was born in England but my father was Irish so I will be making sure I include both of my ethnic origins in Question 16 by ticking ‘Other’ and writing in ‘Irish and English’. If anyone is in any doubt, there is more information about the questions on our website www.howirishareyou.com “