Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

I am afraid the Minister might be just playing with the issue rather than dealing with it. He tells us every time that he is pressing the buttons but there is nothing he can do about it. That, however, is no good to us. What we need is action from the Minister on this issue. He said he will raise another hare with the Commission and let the Commission chase it around for another six months before it comes to ground. That is no use to the people about whom we are talking.

It is important that the House realises the sort of people about whom we are talking. We are talking about Irish people who went abroad, worked extremely hard and sent back a great deal of money to the rest of us who were at home. They and their organisations believe there is a necessity for some recognition of that. It is not about monetary value because there is very little monetary value involved, and I believe the Minister appreciates that. It is a matter of recognising them and giving them somewhat of a salute for what they did for us.

I ask the Minister to stop running to the Commission every time he wants to do something. He should take a leaf out of the book of the French Government and Administration and do it. He can then talk to the Commission. I strongly suggest he should do that. He should not run to the Attorney General either because he will give the Minister the most careful possible answer. He should just do it and deal with the Commission subsequently. It will be ten years before it catches up with any one pensioner.

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