Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like the Chairman, I welcome the proposal and consider it to be very worthwhile. I presume minimal funding would establish the project. Often as a State we are reluctant to use universities, institutes of technology, business schools and research units in colleges to carry out specific work on behalf of Departments. The project could be delegated, within reason, to a college, institute of technology, business school or whatever. Minimal costs would be involved, as Mr. O'Brien said. I am sure, as a committee, we would support the proposal being made to the Minister and Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The delegation welcomed the appointment of the first Minister of Strate with responsibility for the diaspora, Deputy Deenihan. There is no better man to do a good job and I wish him every success in that role.

One of the things we want to ensure, and hoping the proposal can be progressed, is that we reach as many people as possible. Many of the people that Crosscare deals with, whether emigrants abroad or returned emigrants, are the more vulnerable. Unfortunately, many of the more vulnerable people will not have access to the Internet. We must ensure that it is not just the people who are most literate, technology friendly and can access all modern means of communication, who can access the service.

Over the years many of us have worked in different continents, in Britain, the States and elsewhere. I have noticed in more recent years when I interacted with county associations from my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, as others will have done so with their own counties, the age profile of the county associations, who have done marvellous work over the years, has risen considerably. When one attends one of their functions one finds the older emigrant attends. In general, the younger emigrant gravitates towards Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, the GAA, and probably Comhaltas as well. We have also discussed the Irish in Britain and the huge amount of valuable work done by the two organisations with H.E. Dan Mulhall, the Irish ambassador to Britain. From the point of view of maximising the potential of this very good proposal, we must ensure Crosscare has every support from those particular organisations because they have huge databases. We also want to ensure that the most vulnerable - the people who live a very lonely and isolated existence - can be reached as far as is possible which I know is not always easy to do.

In my county of Cavan, some years ago, a time when there was no pressure on public housing, we initiated a programme to provide housing to emigrants who wanted to return home. Unfortunately, there was not a big take-up and I do not know if the scheme was rolled out in other counties. Some people did come back and the small number of people that I knew who returned, under the initiative, enjoyed a new lease of life.

With regard to social welfare and giving assistance to people who return here, a constant obstacle that I have encountered, which I am sure has been experienced by all of my colleagues in the Oireachtas, is the habitual residency clause. I have seen instances of adults returning home to care for an elderly parent or sibling having given up their jobs in Britain or wherever but who could not get social welfare payments here. Those people cared for their family member at home instead of leaving them in a nursing home. The habitual residency clause does not seem to be as big an obstacle today as it was a number of years ago. I do not know if it still is. Perhaps Crosscare has some suggestions we could pursue that would solve the issue and ease that particular difficulty for returning emigrants. I am sure we would be glad to support worthwhile proposals.

Like the Chairman, I compliment Crosscare on its work that it does on an ongoing basis. I am well acquainted with its work which is very welcome. The proposal has great potential.