Ms Orlagh McHugh:

The 2016 statistics were mentioned. As a returned immigrant who came back that year, I am one of those statistics. I am also a member of the board of SafeHome Ireland. I worked in Australia with an organisation supported by the emigrant support programme. I refer to the Irish Australian Support Association of Queensland. As part of that organisation, we had a mothers' group and a seniors' group. We dealt on a daily basis with mothers who had Irish partners but also Australian partners and whose long-term plan was to return to Ireland. They were coming across issues such as the de factopartner or father not being able to get a visa or to work while that visa was being processed. Issues also arose in the context of securing mortgages, school places, driving licences and delays regarding Australian work experience and rental history. These are basic things but they were big factors for people planning journeys home. People in the seniors' group had fond memories of what Ireland was like when they left in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s but times have changed. For them the issue is ringing the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and being asked to press 1 rather than being able to get a physical voice on the phone to support their inquiries.