The Irish government is to distribute grants totaling $2.68 million to 28 organizations in the United States, including the dozen or so coast-to-coast immigration and pastoral centers.

The funding was announced by foreign minister Micheál Martin who was in Washington and New York for four days the week of October 12.

The funding is provided under the Emigrant Support Program, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

In a change from previous years, the grants package extends beyond the normal group of immigration centers in cities including New York, Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Included in the list is, for example, a grant of $50,000 to the Irish Technology Leadership Group in California "to assist and nurture Irish companies in the software industry by utilizing the expertise of experienced Irish executives in Silicon Valley."

This allocation was proposed at the recent Farmleigh global Irish Diaspora economic conference in Dublin.

"We will continue to offer support to all sections of the global Irish. In addition to the increased economic element to our work arising from the recent forum, I am determined to ensure that we continue to attach a high priority to meeting the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized members of the Irish abroad," said Minister Martin.

Also included in the grants announced was one of $50,000 for the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR). It brings total Irish government funding for the ILIR since 2006 to $285,000.

"The resolution of the situation facing the undocumented Irish, and the early establishment of new arrangements to facilitate legal migration between Ireland and the United States remain a priority for me as minister.

"The allocation of additional government support to the ILIR is a further indication of the government's firm determination to work with our community in the United States to find a long term solution," said Martin after meeting in New York with representatives of both ILIR and the Coalition of Immigration Centers.