Written answers
Tuesday, 21 October 2025
Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Emigrant Support Services
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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915. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for an update on the work being done by his Department, and agencies under its remit, to facilitate, in line with the commitment under the Programme for Government, the easier return to Ireland for emigrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56794/25]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government contains three actions on facilitating an easier return to Ireland for emigrants. These are to:
- Establish talent networks to connect highly-skilled individuals abroad with opportunities in Ireland, creating a pipeline for skilled Irish emigrants to return and for foreign talent to engage with our economy;
- Develop a new Diaspora Strategy to ensure that the new generation and profile of emigrants are aware of and can access support overseas and develop our international diaspora networks using online and data-based initiatives and
- Work to facilitate the easier return to Ireland for emigrants, including reciprocal driving licence arrangements with the USA, Australia and Canada and the creation of a one-stop-support service to assist with obtaining PPS numbers and other administrative issues
The work of my Department in promoting the economic and social development of our rural towns, villages and areas, along with our focus on community development, are helping to ensure our rural areas and communities are attractive places to live, work and raise a family.
Our investment in projects under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is driving economic activity across the country, and schemes such as Town and Village Renewal are supporting the sustainable development of our towns and villages. The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme is ensure we have high quality local amenities in our communities. Investment in the Connected Hubs network is supporting remote working and local enterprise development, delivering both economic and social benefits for our communities.
While my Department has not role in making the return of emigrants easier, the investment by my Department is driving economic activity and ensuring our communities are attractive places to live, including those returning to Ireland.
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