Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms McAleer and, in particular, the National Youth Council of Ireland for producing a fascinating piece of work. It is fascinating because it is so relevant to Irish society. I do not know whether we can tease it out with the delegation and get an opinion from it. It might have heard me say I left Ireland in 1969 and arrived in Africa in 1970. The three of were tradesmen - an electrician, a plumber and a carpenter. The reason I am highlighting this issue relates to the term "emigrant". Was I an emigrant? I felt we were adventurers - three people who wanted to see the world. The report states 47% of emigrants are employed full time, which was the position we were in in 1969. Just under 40% had left because they wanted to travel and experience another culture. One could almost read me into that statistic, but I never saw myself as an emigrant. I wonder, therefore, whether there is a definition. Are those of us who travel automatically labelled as emigrants because we might only go with a view to spending some years away and then returning? It is even more complex than this.

The delegation might have noticed that the Immigrant Council of Ireland has a 24 hour picket outside Leinster House. I went and spoke to people on it.