Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gavan for eloquently putting the case for the Irish in Britain. We in this country do not fully appreciate the extent of the Irish diaspora, especially in major UK cities such as Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, London and Birmingham. I know from my British-Irish links that many of these men and women are involved in the Labour Party and Scottish National Party, and some are involved in the Conservative Party. I hope that whatever happens, the Irish caucus in Westminster, as it is known, will be strong. It is something that we have underestimated. There is huge Irish goodwill in Westminster and we have to continue to work with this, regardless of which party is in government. Anecdotally, many members of the Irish diaspora have been Labour Party supporters over the years.Just as many of the Irish diaspora in the United States have moved from the Democrats to the Republicans, some of the Irish diaspora in the UK have moved from the UK Labour Party to the Conservatives. It is a cross-party issue now.

I was disappointed to hear the recent revelations about the finances of the Football Association of Ireland, FAI, which is €55 million in debt. It is disappointing that representatives of the FAI will not attend today's meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport, which will begin at 1.30 p.m. Many questions need to be answered. It is worrying to hear that FAI staff members, who have suffered a lot, have received threatening letters. This must stop. I ask the relevant authorities, including the Garda, to ensure it does not happen again. People are angry with the FAI and with particular people in the FAI. The staff of the FAI have done nothing wrong. Many of them have worked extremely hard.