Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Barriers Facing Those Returning to Live in Ireland: Discussion

Ms Aileen Leonard Dibra:

I will ask my colleagues, Mr. Staunton and Ms Kennelly, to come in also. I will answer with regard to breaking down the number of people coming back and the question on how many are undocumented and where they are coming from. The Irish community tends to be in the urban hubs here for the most part. That is not to say they are not elsewhere, but where our centres are located, there are large numbers of Irish immigrants who seek support from them in those areas. That is one thing I would focus on. Does Ms Kennelly agree with that? Centres reach out in smaller numbers to larger geographic areas, usually based on consular region, to support others not in those direct areas.