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

I thank our guests for coming in to speak with us and renewing old acquaintances. In a previous incarnation I interacted with emigrant groups when I visited them in Boston, New York, London, Manchester, Birmingham and all the other places. I discovered at the time that there are two types of emigrants. The first group comprises those who have been forced to emigrate where they had no option but to do so in dramatic circumstances, often very dramatic for those who emigrated and for their parents and friends who they left at home. There second group comprises those who are better educated, who voluntarily emigrated and those for whom new opportunities have opened up. They are better at using electronic media for communicating, on a daily basis if necessary.

In canvassing recently in the Roscommon by-election I spoke to the mother of someone who had recently emigrated. She told me she could not use Skype because she found the experience traumatic. I found that interesting.

The register is a good idea and it should be put in place as a means of communication, recognition and to facilitate developing a sense of togetherness and being part of the Irish State. At the same time we must plan ahead. With the ups and downs in our economy during the past 50 years, this country should have enough experience to be able to do that. We must learn from that experience and ensure that we expand economically in such a way that will allow us plan for a time when the areas of the country more seriously affected by emigration are focused on in a meaningful way that will ensure investment takes place to stop that emigration. It is ironic that Irish emigrants end up in far-flung regions of the world in areas where, if they were at home, they might object to the technology all around them. It should not be that way, and it is sad.

To adequately plan for the future we need an economic plan different from any plan we have proposed previously to identify those sensitive areas and provide the necessary infrastructure to encourage investment.

The day when we could encourage investment in a green field, with nothing added on to it, has gone. Investors now look for major infrastructure like water, energy, telecommunications and sanitary services, all of which are absolutely necessary. Local and international investors will go to sites where those infrastructural investments have already taken place. That is something we can do. We can relate it to the work of the witnesses with regard to the register by looking at the areas where people with various capacities and qualifications are coming from and at how they have fared in their new countries. When I visited them, I found that some of them have integrated in their adopted country to a huge extent but others have not. Some of those who emigrated in the 1950s are harking back to the old days as if nothing had ever changed. Unfortunately, everything changes. As we know, everything moves on. It is sad and harsh, but that is the way it is.

In a previous incarnation, I supported the valuable work of the witnesses in acknowledging and interacting with our emigrants. Supports are particularly essential for those who have been forced to emigrate. They need a shoulder to lean on. Perhaps they need a shoulder to cry on sometimes. It is important that there is something there for them. The witnesses are right to separate these issues from the campaign for voting rights, etc. This is something that can be done regardless of anything else.