Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I second the motion. I thank the Labour Party for tabling this important motion and concur with what Senator Ryan said. We are debating a Private Members' motion which is not just about politics. There is a moral dimension to this motion which is the huge debt of gratitude we, and particularly politicians, owe to the Irish emigrants, most of whom were forced to leave this land down through the years to eke out a meagre living abroad. Those people built up the economies of the countries to which they emigrated. Significant numbers of such people sent back money to assist relatives in Ireland.

Ireland from the 1930s to the 1960s was a bleak place, particularly in economic terms. Without the money sent home weekly or monthly by hundreds of thousands of Irish emigrants abroad, it would have been worse. For that reason alone, there is a moral obligation on every politician in this country and particularly on the Government to ensure that we mark in a meaningful way the contribution of emigrants.

Last year, I read that fine novel by John McGahern, That They May Face the Rising Sun, a story which is both simple and complex in its way. One of its characters is an emigrant labourer who spent his emigrant years, for economic and social reasons, in London. In his fading years, he returns to Ireland. When in London, he pretended he was financially well off, with an excellent lifestyle. However, as one reads the novel, one realises he yearned to be at home. The character comes home because he has no pension entitlements and, soon afterwards, he dies.

Although it is a novel, that character is typical of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of Irish people abroad. The touching nature of the tale struck a chord with me and made me reflect on what we should do to respond to such people. The Minister has received a report from the task force, which the Government amendment on the Order Paper welcomes. However, unfortunately, the amendment continues by stating why the report will not be acted on as and when it should. Senator Ryan concluded by saying that this debate should be about the agency and the money and I reiterate that point. The Minister should show us the colour of the Government's money in regard to this not only political but moral issue.

There was a time when, during debates on emigration, we had to deal with what Senator Ryan rightly called the politics of choice. The Government of the day, of whatever hue, would have to make hard choices. Now, fortunately, we have sufficient resources to put in place the assistance which many emigrants still need. The choice now is not financial but political. It is up to the Minister and his colleagues in Government to make a clear statement as to what they think of the Irish generations who lived their lives abroad.

When we debated emigration over the past ten or 15 years, more often than not we were talking about illegal Irish immigrants in the United States. It was a subject in which I had much interest and I went on a few visits to the United States to meet illegal immigrants. That problem has, on the whole, been tackled, although, as the Minister is aware, there is again an emerging problem of illegal Irish immigrants in the United States.

However, the broader issue of Irish emigrants to Britain must be urgently addressed. We must accept that tens of thousands who worked in Britain, particularly in the construction industry from the 1940s to the 1960s, are not in a position to retire with a decent pension or secure accommodation. Given the circumstances in which they had to find and maintain employment, their remuneration was often without security or welfare and pension benefits. We must urgently quantify the numbers of such people.

There have been attempts to put in place schemes to bring some home. One of our Oireachtas colleagues, Deputy Cowley, featured in a recent article regarding a scheme in the west through which certain emigrants are being assisted to come home. Despite what was said by a former member of the Fianna Fáil party, referred to by Senator Ryan, the country is big enough for all such people. If we can at least quantify the numbers interested in returning to live out their final years in this country, we should attempt to do so. The question of choice should no longer prohibit us from responding because the money is there — it is a question of what political priority we give this issue.

The wording of the motion is the only wording appropriate to this debate. The recent "Prime Time" programme, Lost Generation, brought home to us starkly the sad lives of too many of our fellow Irish citizens abroad. There is a need for a political response. When a task force is charged with a job of work, responds in a concise fashion as to what should be done and quantifies the money required, it is not good enough for any Government to say action must wait. The idea that the Minister for Foreign Affairs must wait until after the EU Presidency to establish the unit is not good enough.

During recent debates at the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Deputy Gay Mitchell suggested that there should be some facility, perhaps through that committee, to liaise with, work with and take hearings from Irish citizens abroad, particularly those in Britain, the problems of whom we could investigate at a deeper level. His proposal was supported by all sides of the committee, including by the Leader of the House, Senator O'Rourke.

I support the motion. At a time when record resources are available in a country which was built on the labours and remittances of many emigrants, we must respond in kind and show real political commitment. Anything but immediate action on, and financial response to, the task force report is simply not good enough. It would not be a fair, honest or moral answer to the Irish emigrants who, in their own way, have made a huge contribution to the building of this country.