Mr. Ronnie Millar:

In a time of extreme crisis, the Irish community really came together to support each other. The embassy in Washington DC partnered with the local consular regions and the 11 centres to provide emergency support to Irish emigrant families who were struggling because of Covid. They were struggling financially. People had lost their jobs. In the early days of Covid, many people were in the construction industry which had really shut down. This time last year, the hospitality sector was wiped out for more than a year. Many people had lost their jobs and needed help with rent and food.

The best example of this was probably in New York. A number of Irish organisations and businesses came together and formed the Sláinte 2020 coalition to provide emergency relief and cash assistance. We are indebted to the Irish Government for supporting the welfare of Irish immigrants who really struggled. Many of the centres ran food pantries and cash assistance programmes. They checked in with families, particularly older people. The Irish pastoral centre in Boston supported older Irish people as did many other centres. This was critical and I thank the embassy in particular. Every month, we had calls with the ambassador and all of our consuls general. There was a real sense of solidarity through Covid at real time of crisis. In Massachusetts, we were part of a multicultural coalition of immigrant support centres. We were able to get funding from private foundations that were able to help Irish immigrants in Massachusetts with emergency cash assistance.

We have also been part of racial justice. Many of the centres have been very active on the multicultural piece in the United States. There has been a real racial reckoning. This has been an important part of the past year. We have been part of this conversation in terms of racial justice. The Irish have stood alongside immigrants of colour and African-Americans. On behalf of all of the centres, I appreciate all of the support of the Irish Government.