Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and much of what I wanted to say has been covered. With regard to the undocumented in the United States, perhaps we should put a bit more emphasis on the relationship with the Grand Old Party, GOP. Our traditional connections have been more with the Democratic Party than the Republicans and I know efforts have been made to build that up. There is scope to do that as there are many Irish links within the Republican Party. To some extent, we would have quite a bit in common with them as well. That might help overcome difficulties, as the Minister mentioned there are many obstacles.

My colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith, mentioned Seanad membership and I agree with his comments. I do not particularly agree with nominations for the diaspora and I do not agree with having Taoiseach's nominees as the Seanad should be an entirely elected Chamber. It is possible to have that and I was taken by the manner in which the Minister of State indicated there could be three representatives. In coming to the 1916 centenary and in discussions of inclusiveness, we should extend the vote for the Seanad to Northern Ireland. I have spoken to Unionist councillors over the years, especially when there were strong North-South links with local authority members. Many Unionists were very disposed to taking a place in the Seanad but did not want to be isolated within their communities. Perhaps we could extend this in a way that we could have a certain critical mass, which would enhance the importance of the Seanad and open dialogue, North and South, that may not be happening as much as it could be politically.

I agree with the comments on the presidential election and extending the franchise. Some people have suggested this should happen for general elections but I am not persuaded that this is a good idea. There should be a link between residents and taxation with respect to the formulation of the Government and electing people. I agree with everything that is being done with regard to communications. It is extraordinary that a national broadcaster would seek to remove the long wave 252 service. If that happens, it will offset any good the Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora can do. It is a link that many people depend on, and particularly a certain age group that may not be fully engaged with modern technology and social media.

I will finish by recounting a trip by the committee to Singapore towards the end of last year. We engaged with the Irish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, which was a very good exercise. Perhaps there is scope in countries where there is a diaspora to have a chamber of commerce that would be fairly inclusive. We have many successful business people living abroad and it would benefit their business and provide reciprocal benefits for us if they could link to what is happening here from a business perspective. We also met a gathering of young people when in Singapore. That was interesting and the people were all working. I asked how many of them went to Singapore of their own volition and how many were forced to move because of unemployment here. The Chairman or other members might correct me but almost all of them went to Singapore of their own volition, which was also interesting. I also asked how many of them would be interested in returning to Ireland at some stage in the near future. They were unanimous in their wish to return. We need to keep those links alive in order that people return. They will bring expertise and have a valuable input in the development of Ireland.

My final point was touched on by Deputy Eric Byrne and the Minister of State. There are people who are not successful when they go abroad and they may fall through the cracks. In Britain in particular, there are people who emigrated many years ago with a low level of education and found themselves in hard times. Many people who go abroad now are well educated but people went to Australia, in particular from the building and construction industry, and they probably did not have a high level of education. They had certain building skills. I wonder how they would be affected by a slump in that country and we should be mindful of that. Are schemes and strategies being developed to identify those people? Often, they slip under the radar. One of the groups doing tremendous work - although I am sure there are others - is the GAA. It is extraordinary to go to places like Tokyo or China and see GAA clubs that are a focus for the Irish abroad. It is a real tribute to the games, of which the Minister of State was an exemplary exponent. I am sure the Department is working with that body and we could develop a stronger role in that regard.