Seanad debates

Thursday, 23 February 2017

10:30 am

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé fíorbhuíoch bheith anseo inniu fá choinne an díospóireacht seo maidir le daoine Éireannacha thar lear. Ba mhaith liom mo aitheantas agus mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le Ceannaire an tSeanad fá choinne an cuireadh seo a thabhairt dom.

Since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora and overseas development aid, my focus has been on supporting and engaging Irish citizens and those of Irish descent living overseas. I have also been actively advocating for them and highlighting issues of concern to them both internationally and domestically. I do not treat this role lightly. My own county of Donegal has seen decades of emigration so it is something that resonates profoundly with me. I am passionate about being the Minister of State representing Irish people wherever they are in the world. In March 2015, the Government published Global Irish: Ireland's Diaspora Policy, its first clear strategy statement on the diaspora. We recognise that Ireland has a unique and important relationship with its diaspora that must be nurtured and developed. Drawing inspiration from our Constitution, our vision is a vibrant, diverse global Irish community connected to Ireland and to each other. Supporting our diaspora is a key priority for me as a Minister of State.

The Government's emigrant support programme, ESP, is clear evidence of the strength of the Government's continued commitment to our citizens and our communities abroad. Since its inception in 2004, the programme has provided over €148 million to over 400 organisations across the globe. In 2016 ESP funding supported over 230 organisations in more than 30 countries. As I have travelled and met with Irish communities across the world, in London, Glasgow, Boston, San Francisco, Edinburgh, Vienna, Istanbul, Nairobi and Kampala, I have seen the very real difference that our funding and our people make and the fantastic work being done by Irish community organisations. For example, just this week in London, I had meetings with Patrick Morrison and Mary Tilki of the Irish in Britain. I visited the London Irish Centre in Camden and had a lengthy engagement with the staff who provide expert advice and guidance to those newly arriving in London as well as older longer term residents who are now concerned about the uncertainty created by Brexit. I met Fr. Tom Devereux and Eddie Gilmore of the Irish Chaplaincy and Sally Mulready and Margaret Geiger of the Irish Elderly Advice Network. A month ago, I had the honour of seeing the newly refurbished Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, meeting Jim O'Hara and his team and visiting Nora Higgins, Rita Andrews and their team at Southwark Irish Pensioners Project. I was glad to be able to reassure them all about the Government's work on Brexit and to give a commitment of our ongoing support.

Our support is not just about the funding itself. The emigrant support programme also nurtures a wider sense of connection with home and fosters the sense among Irish people abroad that we value them. The importance of that to the Irish abroad and to families across Ireland should not be underestimated and I see it all the time in my own constituency.

I have also met with Irish community organisations and leaders doing fantastic work in San Francisco and Boston. I was accompanied by Senator Billy Lawless in New York and Boston. While in Boston, I met with Mayor Marty Walsh of Boston and Governor Charlie Baker along with Fr. Dan Finn of the Irish Pastoral Centre, Seamus Mulligan of the Irish Cultural Centre of New England, Ronnie Millar of the Irish International Immigrant Center. In San Francisco I met with Celine Kennelly and Fr. Brendan McBride, from the Rosses in my own county, of the Irish Immigration Pastoral Center in San Francisco. I look forward to building on this community engagement when I travel to Philadelphia and New York in March.We are all aware that this is a particularly uncertain and anxious time for undocumented Irish citizens in the US and for their families here at home. In New York, I chaired a round-table meeting with representatives of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres, which brings together Irish immigration centres from across the United States. It was an important opportunity for me to hear from them at first hand and to reassure them of the Government's support for their organisations. We remain fully committed to the twin objectives of relief for undocumented citizens and greater pathways for migration to the US.

The services funded by the emigrant support programme include welfare and legal advice services uniquely tailored to the needs of undocumented citizens. In 2016, we allocated more than €2.3 million in funding to organisations across the United States. Our ambassador in Washington hosted a key strategic meeting of stakeholders in the area of immigration at the embassy on 12 January. Senator Billy Lawless attended the meeting. We had an exchange of views on how progress might best be made in the new political context.

Amid the uncertainty and concern associated with announcements in the US, including another one this week, it should be emphasised that much will depend on how the executive orders are to be implemented. It is worth noting that many actions in the orders will require additional funding from Congress and possibly lengthy lead-in times to recruit and train additional staff. Our embassy in Washington is currently working with the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres to ensure that undocumented Irish citizens have access to clear, factual information about the executive orders, and also clear, practical advice as to action they can take to ensure they are in the best possible position. The Government will continue to use every channel available to it, including the upcoming visit by the Taoiseach to Washington, and by Ministers to other key US cities, to voice support for Irish citizens and to sensitise the new Administration to our concerns.

Significant funding and support is also provided by the Department through the emigrant support programme, to support citizens who wish to return to Ireland. Through chairing the interdepartmental committee on the Irish abroad, I have been working to oversee joined-up delivery of the diaspora policy and also to examine issues affecting the Irish abroad and those wishing to return home to Ireland. The next meeting of the committee will take place at the end of March, to allow Ministers to report back on issues raised by Irish communities abroad with them during their St Patrick's Day travel programmes.

We are all rightly concerned about issues that have been identified as potential barriers, for example: job opportunities, especially in rural areas; access to affordable housing; the rising cost of motor insurance and health insurance premiums; access to schools and affordable child care; recognition of foreign driving licences; recognition of qualifications; and social protection issues including transfer of pensions. I invited representatives of Crosscare and Safe Home to brief the committee so that Department representatives would have a clear and complete understanding of the issues. I will invite Departments to bring forward proposals on the next steps at the next meeting. I am also pleased to report that over the past decade more than €4 million has been allocated by my Department to Crosscare and Safe Home, for their work with returning emigrants and I am pleased to report that their funding in 2016 increased by €60,000 on the 2015 figure.

I would be delighted if I could solve all of these issue immediately, but as everyone will appreciate, many of the concerns raised are cross-cutting matters and addressing them will naturally involve the co-operation of relevant Departments and ongoing engagement with industry and service providers. Indeed, some of the issues are not exclusive to returning emigrants. Issues relating to the availability and cost of housing, child care and motor insurance, for example, are relevant to the whole population, and are issues that the Government is working actively to address.

As Minister of State with responsibility for diaspora affairs my objective is to ensure that all Government policies are developed and delivered in a way that takes account of returning emigrants and does not inadvertently create additional barriers. Having spent time as an emigrant myself I know how important it is for the Government to communicate more, and more effectively, with those who have left Ireland and I have made this work central to what we do. Our @GlobalIrish Twitter account has gained on average 60 new followers a week since I took office. Regular newsletters are sent featuring and promoting networks overseas to readers all over the world.

St. Patrick's Day is a particular focal point for communicating with the diaspora but throughout the year the global Irish remain connected with us and with each other through our work with Irish sporting and cultural organisations. Government support for the GAA, for example, has enabled the global games development fund. With our help, people are playing hurling in Buenos Aires and ladies football in Vietnam. With our help also, Irish people and their children are keeping up with the cúpla focalin Hong Kong, Paris and Sydney. Yesterday I was informed that, incredibly, 250 people in London have attended an Irish class in the past six months. With our help, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann is active in Birmingham, the West Midlands, and Birmingham, Alabama.

In May at the Global Irish Civic Forum I will bring together 150 delegates from across the world who are working at the coalface in delivering supports to the diaspora. My ambition is that we build even greater innovation and sustainability into community organisations so that they thrive and grow. In particular, I will focus on digital initiatives so that those organisations can communicate better with us, with each other and with the wider diaspora. The Government is also providing support to Irish business networks who seek to help Irish business people to connect with each other and seek out new opportunities, including for trade and investment in Ireland. In 2016, the appointment of Ireland's first Senator for the diaspora, Senator Billy Lawless, was an important step in recognising the contribution of citizens based abroad.

As regards the important issue of extending voting rights in presidential elections to citizens abroad, I am working actively with the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan. Our immediate priority is to complete the report to Government setting out the policy, legal and practical implications of extending voting rights. I am happy to report that extensive work has been carried out by officials in both Departments in this regard.

As we look ahead and consider the review of the implementation of the diaspora policy I am keen to encourage even more responsive solutions to problems faced by emigrants. I urge Members of this House to come forward with suggestions and to use the platform of the civic forum on 4 and 5 May to continue the engagement. There must be even greater cross-Government policy coherence in their service in the year ahead, and better engagement between the different generations of the Irish abroad.

Thank you, Acting Chairman, for the opportunity to address the Seanad this afternoon. As we prepare for St. Patrick's Day and consider the real needs of the diaspora I look forward to the discussion with Members of the key issues facing us, and on the key opportunities we need to embrace.

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