Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

Two months ago, a similar motion was debated in Dáil Éireann. It was a well attended, informed and, at times, emotional debate, as this one has been. I acknowledge the significant contribution of Deputy Stagg in the Lower House, which was mentioned in this debate and rightly so. It is important that we should hear from those with practical experience as emigrants. Equally, I acknowledge the important contribution made, and the very real experience shared, by Senator Mooney. Those of us who went to the UK and elsewhere as students to work on building sites in the 1970s would have met the kind of people to whom Senator Ryan referred. In our own lives we have all come into contact with such individuals and, as a result, we are aware of the contribution they made, as well as the difficulties they experienced as emigrants abroad.

While there was, as one would expect, the usual cut and thrust of parliamentary exchanges, I noted the constructive and positive tone which characterised many of the contributions to the debate in the Lower House. I am, therefore, pleased that the Seanad has also had the opportunity to address this important issue, to make its distinctive contribution to the debate and, thereby, to continue to raise the profile of this significant issue among the public.

It is important and necessary to have the widest, informed public discussion on an issue that has affected, at one time or another, almost every family in Ireland but yet for too long has been ignored by all of us. I will outline how the subject of our emigrants abroad has been brought to the forefront of political debate and why we are having this debate.

The background was a report commissioned by the Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants and the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas in 1999. That report assessed the current pattern of Irish emigration, reviewed the policy responses and services provided by the Government, the Catholic Church and other voluntary agencies and set out the main policy challenges that would arise over the next ten years. It concluded there was a need for a Government commitment to a partnership approach to the subject of emigration and the development of a coherent and effective policy, funding and service infrastructure and recommended the establishment of a task force. As a result of discussions and consultation with the social partners leading to the agreement of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, it was agreed that a task force on policy regarding emigrants should be established.

My colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, established this task force in 2001 and gave it the widest remit. It was asked to examine and review all aspects of emigration, pre-departure services for emigrants and services for emigrants abroad and those who wished to return. The task force was asked to pay attention to the needs of young and disadvantaged emigrants who are at greatest risk of social exclusion and marginalisation when they go abroad and to the needs of returning emigrants, especially the vulnerable and the elderly.

After wide consultation, both at home and abroad, the task force produced an excellent report in August 2002 setting out the problems and challenges of emigration in today's world. During all the discussion since the publication of the report, I have heard nothing but the highest praise for its incisive analysis of the issues, the clarity of its recommendations and the humanity that guided its deliberations. The chairman, Mr. Paddy O'Hanlon, and all the members of the task force deserve our special thanks for the way they went about this difficult but necessary task.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs made it clear when it was published that the implementation of its many wide ranging and far reaching proposals would have to be phased in over a number of years. In this regard, he said he did not believe it would be possible to implement all the recommendations at once, even if the level of resources advocated by the task force could be provided. However, this is far from saying little has been done. Since the publication of the task force's report, considerable progress has been made across a range of areas.

Britain continues to have the greatest number of Irish emigrants and the greatest proportion of vulnerable emigrants who require special assistance and support. The greatest share of the resources provided by the Government for welfare services for the Irish abroad is, accordingly, allocated to the UK. The total amount allocated by the DÍON committee since 1984 is almost €18 million. More than half of this has been allocated since the Government parties took office in 1997. The DÍON fund has increased by more than 350% since 1997.

In 2003, 57 organisations received DÍON grants totalling €2.573 million. I accept this was 5% less than the total allocated in 2002 but, later in the year, this was corrected when a further €150,000 was allocated directly to the Federation of Irish Societies in London from savings. This brought the total allocation to emigrant services in Britain to €2.723 million in 2003, representing a slight increase of €15,000 on the 2002 figure.

This year, the DÍON fund will increase by a further 30% to €3.57 million. Funding for a project by the Federation of Irish Societies to provide greater support to its affiliated organisations to improve their capacity to manage their services and secure funding from local sources in the UK is included in this amount. This capacity building support is vital to enable the Irish welfare agencies to make the most effective use of the funds provided by the Government and to assist them in broadening the base of their funding to encompass other available sources. The Federation of Irish Societies has recently appointed a director to manage this project and it will shortly recruit two development workers who will be based in the regions and who will provide hands on management support to the agencies that require it.

The new director of the federation welcomed the funding in an article in the Irish Post stating:

We are delighted that the Irish Government has demonstrated its commitment to the Federation, recognising the central role we play within Britain and providing us with additional funds to continue this role. The new posts funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs will also enable us to expand and develop the range of services on offer to our affiliate organisations and build upon our capacity to reach groups that may not be linked in with any other Irish organisations such as ourselves throughout Britain.

The total allocation for emigrant services in the Foreign Affairs Vote this year is €4 million. This represents an increase of €1 million, or one third, over 2003. The lion's share of this — €3.57 million — will go to the DÍON fund for services to Irish emigrants in the UK while €400,000 will be allocated to Irish welfare agencies in the US and €48,000 will go to agencies in Australia. Provision has also been made for grants to Canada, ÉAN, the umbrella body for voluntary agencies in Ireland providing services to emigrants, and the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas. It is hoped to allocate further funds to emigrant services later this year under the Foreign Affairs Vote.

In addition to the funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Social and Family Affairs provides funding for information to assist Irish citizens considering emigration and to Irish emigrants abroad considering returning home. The total amount allocated by that Department for these services in 2004 is €427,000. Furthermore, approximately 60% of those who qualify under the pension scheme introduced by the Government in 2000 for people with pre-1953 contributions are living abroad, mostly in Britain. Approximately €80 million will be paid in these pensions to Irish people abroad in 2004. Many thousands of elderly Irish people living in Britain will benefit as a result.

The report contains 71 recommendations. Action is being taken on implementing more than two thirds of them. A number of the recommendations fall within the areas of responsibility of other Departments and they have been asked to examine them to determine what progress has been made in implementing them and what further steps could be taken.

I will outline a few examples to illustrate progress. The funding for emigrant services abroad has been brought together under the Department of Foreign Affairs. This was done last year following the transfer of the DÍON fund from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. A significant increase in funding for emigrant services has been provided in the Foreign Affairs Vote this year. The task force recommended that financial assistance be given to ÉAN, the umbrella group for voluntary agencies providing information and advice to potential emigrants, to enable it to provide more effective support to its member agencies. The Minister recently announced that a portion of the additional funds this year will be allocated for this purpose.

The task force also recommended that the Government should continue its political engagement with the authorities in the US regarding the position of undocumented Irish people there. During his recent visit to Washington, the Minister met a number of prominent members of Congress with whom he discussed a draft Bill that would regulate the status of undocumented Irish immigrants in the US.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs is implementing the task force recommendation that the Government should give priority to the link between migration and social exclusion during our Presidency of the EU by organising a Presidency conference on reconciling mobility and social inclusion next month.

An interdepartmental group, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, is meeting on a fortnightly basis to monitor progress in implementing the recommendations. The task force report recommended that €18 million should be provided for emigrant services in 2003, increasing to €34 million in 2005. These amounts were seen by the task force as the optimum required if its recommendations were to be implemented immediately. The Minister for Foreign Affairs stated that because of the range and complexity of the measures proposed by the task force, they could not be put into effect overnight and their implementation would have to be phased in over a number of years.

The task force recommended the establishment of an agency for the Irish abroad to co-ordinate the provision of services to the Irish abroad. This would consist of a board, representing both the Departments involved and the voluntary sector, with a secretariat provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs. The agency would be established as a non-statutory body initially but, once established, could become an independent, statutory body. Its cost was estimated at between €1 million and €2 million.

We are not opposed in principle to the establishment of an agency and do not rule this out. However, we consider that, in the context of the current level of funding, it would be inappropriate to devote a large proportion of it to the establishment of an agency.