Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I look forward to the outcome of the stamp advisory committee's deliberations.

Like the Minister, I am very proud of the Irish diaspora. They have gone to all corners of the world. They never forgot about Ireland. There is always a rush for us to travel to New York, Boston, Dallas and wherever, and rightly so, but we have taken our near neighbours in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow a little bit for granted, but they never forgot Ireland. I remember in 1988 when the Republic of Ireland beat England in Stuttgart, at least 3,000 or 4,000 of the 12,000 who went to Germany that time were from the United Kingdom, sons and daughters of Irishmen who went there in the 1950s and 1960s. They never forgot our country and we should not forget them.

A new postage stamp honouring the sacrifices made and the toils of the Irish navvy in contributing to all aspects of buildings and services in the United Kingdom, and even more importantly to the island of Ireland, should be issued.