Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms McAleer for her presentation and wish to mention a few points. I agree entirely with her analysis and think she has done a very good job. There are lessons for all of us. First, we need to focus on the future needs of a growing population, something we have never really done in this country. We have moved from boom to bust in a series of crises over a number of years and never made real provision for the future. We need to make provision for a bigger population. We need to identify the skills available and that are required and marry the two. We also need to diversify the way in which we create jobs and their placement. There are large areas of the country that never see a job created, particularly the rural areas referred to. In today's world of high technology, it is much easier to locate jobs with a high IT skills requirement in places that do not have a large amount of infrastructure provided they have Internet access and meet other electronic requirements. We know that there are more opportunities in more populated places. That creates its own ongoing social problems through a convergence of the population in particular areas. We have learned so many lessons in my lifetime that I wonder when we will have qualified and achieved some academic status in that regard.

In a former incarnation as a Minister of State, I liaised with Irish associations in Boston, New York and Camden in London. It is heart-rending when one meets people, some of whom are not so young anymore. Some have integrated, while others have not. Some look back to the country they left and think it remains as it was, even though both it and the world in which we live have changed vastly. We need to recognise that we live in a challenging global economy, that people are coming here and filling positions that we do not always fill and that they will continue to do so. We must expect this to happen, as it is their right in a global economy. We need to have the skills required, prepare people to be available for the jobs that are available in the economy and make sure there is the investment to have an ongoing stream of employment.

The population of the island will grow to at least ten million in the next 20 years. I predicted this and it is already on course to happen. Twenty years ago I predicted where the population was heading. The population of this part of the island is almost double what it was in 1956 when it had a population of 2.56 million or thereabouts. We have moved quite a distance since. With that movement there is the challenge of making provision. I have referred to the creation of job opportunities, but housing is another issue that is of huge importance for young people. Sadly, after the boom and bust, we are not providing it. Fr. Peter McVerry was on television last week and correctly identified that young people were being squeezed out. Owning their own house or renting it from a local authority is a basic aspiration for all young people. We have been told that we should be like the rest of Europe and depend on the private rental market. Sadly, as it has failed to deliver, we need to address the issue. With a house goes security. As somebody has to build it, there is a job for somebody in building it. At least one job will be provided in the building of a house. This may seem separate from what we are talking about, but it is very relevant because we all see those affected in our clinics every weekend. Young people and young families come crying because they have nowhere to go. That is a sad reflection on our society.

The report produced by Ms McAleer is excellent. It focuses on the issues that have been determined. I am not so sure Ms McAleer would get the post of Minister of State with responsibility for the Diaspora. I think some Minister who is already overburdened will have to take on that responsibility. He or she could and should do so and liaise with relevant parties. I am not sure there is a great surge of support for votes for emigrants, although we have tossed the idea around from time to time. We need to recognise emigrants, be there for them, look over their shoulders and look straight between the two eyes at all times to recognise that they may or may not be abroad permanently. Our objective should be to create a place for them if they wish to come back.