Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and I thank the witnesses for the interesting and valuable discussion this morning and for being available to us. As the Minister of State said, it has been the beginning of what I hope is a future conversation where we and the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade can work together with the diaspora strategy and the issue of health and well-being of our emigrant population and our diaspora. It is important to acknowledge the work of the emigrant support programme and thank it. As we have all said, there are families that are hugely dependent on, are supportive of and grateful for the work it does. I will not name individuals but I thank them for the work they do. We can all provide testimony of families that have issues with people who have gone missing or who cannot come home - issues that have hugely upset family life. Hopefully, this committee can continue this discussion and broaden it.

I remind members that there will be a photograph at the end of the meeting and that next Tuesday's meeting is divided into two parts. Part one is the HIQA report on the national ambulance service where we will be joined by the members of the HSE and the second part of the meeting will deal with care home settings and the television programme on Áras Attracta on RTE last Tuesday night. We will hear from Pat Healy, national director of social care at the HSE and, hopefully, other members of the HSE as part of our response to that programme.