Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Some very important issues were raised by the three members. Senator Walsh raised a point about connection with the GOP. Paul Ryan was here on a private visit and met the Taoiseach on Monday in an official capacity. Unfortunately, I had to go to Boston for the funeral of a friend of mine and did not meet him then, but I met him yesterday. He is an up-and-coming politician who ran for Vice President in the previous election. He is very favourable towards Ireland. In his offices, which Senator Daly has no doubt visited, the first thing to be seen is a hurley. That is not a surprise because he is a Kilkenny man. He is a well-grounded individual with a huge feeling for Ireland and I am sure he represents many more in the Republican Party. As we are also inclined towards and connected with the Democratic Party, we have to use our contacts there who are equally Irish, as we all know.

A critical individual at the moment is the chairman of the judiciary committee, Bob Goodlatte. His wife is from Connemara and he is very excited about the fact that his mother-in-law, whom I understand is a native Irish speaker, cooked the Sunday dinner for them. He is in a powerful position now. Trey Gowdy, who is chairman of the immigration sub-committee, is not from Ireland and has no connection but he is a very good friend of people like Mick Mulvaney who is a good friend of Senator Walsh's as well. We have great connections there which we must use as much as possible in the sense of communicating with these people and making them realise they are in pivotal positions for Ireland. We understand it is not easy but at the same time we would really appreciate it if they could help us.

The Senator also raised the issue of Seanad membership. Certainly that is quite interesting in terms of his views on Northern Ireland and some of his Unionist friends. I know Senator Walsh has gone out of his way to build up a relationship with both communities in Northern Ireland.

I am sure the committee has probably had the former Senator, Dr. Maurice Manning, before it. Has the Chairman been in discussions with him about Seanad reform? I do not want to determine the committee's business but I think it would be an interesting discussion. That is a major opportunity although we could not have all the diaspora voting to elect Members to the Seanad and then the Irish people having no vote on it. It would have to be universal. That would make a very interesting Seanad. The issue about voting in presidential elections and representation without taxation would be a major consideration.

The President in Ireland is a very important position. He is the commander of our armed forces and signs all Bills into law. He is Head of State. Numerous Taoisigh went to the UK in the past but when our President went, it was a totally different occasion. I would not underestimate the position of President in this country and I know the Senator does not want to either. We have been privileged with the calibre of President we have had over the years, in our present and the previous two Presidents but before that as well. If we can find a way, logistically and policy-wise, to extend the franchise, which I hope we will in the future, it is going to be a very important first step.

Senator Walsh raised the issue of chambers of commerce and that is something I identified myself. There is a professional network of Irish people around the world, and chambers of commerce are very well organised and very professional. They attract people from the business sector who want to help Ireland. The first people I met were the people from the chamber of commerce so we are working on a programme with Dublin Chamber of Commerce and others to see how they can connect with chambers of commerce around the world. I agree they are a very important connector with the Irish business world and we hope to continue to work with them and come up with programmes.

Regarding the vulnerable, the Irish abroad unit was set up in 2004 by the Government when Brian Cowen was the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and then the emigrant support programme was established. It was not just setting up a unit in the Department, there was also a fund there. This fund is one of the most generous in the world. Most of the budget has been put into emigrant welfare. The contribution to the UK since 2004, for example, has been about €84 million and to America something like €27 million. There have been huge contributions made to various Irish welfare centres around the world. We should recognise that even when this country was challenged, we continued to provide financial support for all those centres, and the reduction in funding was always something they could adjust to and take. Everywhere I have gone they have recognised that even though this country was really challenged financially and although we did share the pain here at home, we did not forget them. It was a major statement when we started experiencing our tough economic times in 2008 that we would continue to fund them. It shows the commitment by the previous Government and the current Government that our diaspora and vulnerable emigrants are important.

The Senator mentioned the support of the GAA. It is extraordinary what has happened with the GAA around the world. Irrespective of a person's background in sport, whether it is rugby or soccer or whatever, all young people who leave Ireland go to the GAA club in the place they go to.

The first time I travelled to play Gaelic football abroad was in 1970, a long time ago, and over the years I kept in contact with many of the people I met there. I happened to be part of a very successful team which made numerous trips to the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. At that time one attracted a different type of demographic, consisting mainly of older people, usually men. These days, the events I go to are mostly attended by young people and, in some cases, the majority is made up of women. Ladies' Gaelic football has taken off all over the world and is a very suitable field sport for women to play. They readily adapt to it and really enjoy it. Indeed, they often play it better than their menfolk, offering more open and skilful games. While the men's game is often too defensive, women's football is usually more attractive to watch. It is extraordinary how successful it has become.

The other game that has taken off all over the world is hurling. I launched a hurling team in Stanford last year which included nine individuals who had no Irish connections. When I saw a person with a Latino background striking the ball over the bar from 100 m out, I could see that hurling had really arrived.