Irish Abroad Unit outlines its work

The Irish Abroad Unit updated the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs about their work and the current status of Irish emigrants earlier this month. Their update focused on the achievements of 2006 and their plans for 2007.

Ray Bassett of the Unit spoke of the possibility that immigration reform could be passed by the US Congress in September or October, but warned of the importance of caution in these matters. He paid tribute to the work of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, and said that the Irish presence has been helpful as part of the wider campaign for immigration reform aimed at the wider group of undocumented immigrants in the US.

Mr Bassett also spoke of the improvements in the status of Irish emigrants in Britain with €40 million spent since 1984, 80% of that since 2000. The Simon Community credits increased funding for the fall in the number of Irish homeless from 600 to 100 since 1999.

He spoke of establishing good links with the GAA, referring to its ability to bring community together as “sport plus social inclusion”. He also spoke of how the Unit has extended funding to Australia, Canada and Argentina, as well as South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Unit has been given €15.1 million for funding next year, an increase of €3 million.

During the question period, Mr Bassett responded to the issue of free travel and broadcasting to emigrants by saying:

On issues such as RTE, free travel, etc., the Government is in favour. It is a question of how we proceed from here. We have extended the centenarian’s bounty outside the State for those who reach 100 years of age. It will take imaginative thinking to get around some of the obstacles, but we are committed to work with the relevant Departments to assist these people. There is a political and administrative will to do it, but we need the mechanisms to get there.

The update sparked a wide-ranging discussion on the status of the Irish around the world. Senators raised such issues as the special problems of Argentinians who feel a very strong link with Ireland and who would like to get citizenship, but who are too many generations removed under the current system. Senator David Norris spoke of a letter he had received from a young Irish man living in Paris who felt rejected by Ireland because he could not vote here. Senator Paschal Mooney raised the issue of differences between the professional Irish of the more recent generation of emigrants and the traditional Irish emigrants; he suggested there might be some sort of structure developed that would encourage the professional Irish to get involved with those from previous generations.

For the full transcript, see the Oireachtas website.

Sligo County Council says returning emigrants have right to build homes

The Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council has told the Sligo Association in London that the county is helping to bring emigrants home, according to a story in the Sligo Weekender.

Councillor Jim McGarry said, “From Sligo County Council’s perspective, I am pleased that the status of returning emigrants has been actively promoted in our County Development Plan. This plan outlines an explicit entitlement for returning emigrants to build their homes in their native community, and I feel this is a right that is fully deserved”.

He also praised the volunteers working with the emigrant community: “I have the highest regard for the many volunteers who give of their time and energy to assist our people in London.”

See the report on the Sligo Weekender website.
http://www.sligoweekender.ie/news/story.asp?j=31409&cat=business

Leeds report highlights needs of homeless

The Leeds Irish Health and Homes book has recently published a report on homeless Irish people called “Gan Didean” (“Without a Place to Stay”). The report highlights the importance of cultural awareness in service provision and makes a number of recommendations. These include:
- Consultation with Irish organisations in the planning stages of initiatives to deal with homelessness.
- Better ethnic monitoring to provide data for improvements in service provision.
- The inclusion of Irish ethnicity in diversity-training curricula
- Action plans by statutory authorities for culturally sensitive services to the Irish community
- Consultation with Irish organisations by statutory organisations to provide support
- Provision of culturally specific supported housing and care for Irish people.

The report also includes an overview of the work of LIHH and several case studies. It is available through LIHH at http://www.lihh.org.

Kenny invokes emigrant heritage in immigrant speech

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has stirred some controversy with a speech about immigration.

Mr Kenny invoked Ireland's emigrant heritage in his speech, directed at a meeting of the party and its new general election candidates. He said,

We live in a country that exported our people, not by the boatload, or by the planeload, but by the generation.

We live in a country where hundreds of thousands of families lived for the postal order that put food on the table and clothes on their backs thanks to a father and often his sons slaving on the building sites of London and New York and San Francisco.

So it's safe to say that we live in a country where you'd have to have a very small mind, a very short memory and a very hard heart not to welcome the stranger who is trying to make a better life, a more hopeful life for themselves and their families.

Mr Kenny went on to call for a debate on immigration, saying that "I believe that immigration and multiculturalism can be good for Ireland but the current system is not being managed well. We need a system that is good for the Irish and good for the immigrants."

Mr Kenny added:

Fine Gael has three priorities to make immigration work for Ireland: Immigrants have rights and responsibilities. They should have the right to be free of discrimination and have their contribution to the country recognised, but they have the responsibility to integrate into our community, comply with our laws and respect our cultural traditions. I do not want to see a situation developing in which our immigrant population live separate lives. We have a responsibility to facilitate and encourage this integration.

Several commentators have picked up on the fact that Mr Kenny called the Irish a "Celtic and Christian people" and questioned whether these labels apply.

Read the speech on the Fine Gael website.

US President calls for reform in address

US President George Bush included a call for comprehensive immigration reform in his State of the Union address last night. He said:

Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America, with laws that are fair and borders that are secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms the interests of our country. To secure our border, we’re doubling the size of the Border Patrol and funding new infrastructure and technology.

Yet even with all these steps, we cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the border, and that requires a temporary worker program. We should establish a legal and orderly path for foreign workers to enter our country to work on a temporary basis. As a result, they won’t have to try to sneak in, and that will leave border agents free to chase down drug smugglers and criminals and terrorists. We’ll enforce our immigration laws at the worksite, and give employers the tools to verify the legal status of their workers, so there’s no excuse left for violating the law. We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. We need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country, without animosity and without amnesty.

Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to immigration. Let us have a serious, civil, and conclusive debate so that you can pass, and I can sign, comprehensive immigration reform into law.

Argentine navy to honor Irish founder with visit

The Argentine navy's tall ship, the Libertad, will visit Ireland in June as part of the celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of the death of Admiral William Brown. The crew will visit Foxford, Co. Mayo, the birthplace of the founder of the Argentine navy, during their ten-day visit to Ireland.

The ship will conduct a salute off the Mayo coast around June 17, according to the Western People. It will then dock in Galway, Dublin and Cork.

The Admiral William Brown Society is planning a number of commemorative events marking the anniversary. Admiral Brown was born in Foxford in 1777; after emigrating to Argentina he fought in several wars and eventually founded their navy. He is celebrated as a hero in Argentina and this year's events are likely to raise his profile in Ireland.

The full story is on the Western People website.

Diaspora centre a future tourist attraction?

Minister for Tourism John O'Donoghue has suggested he would support an tourist attraction that would tell Ireland's emigration story.

"I would accept there is a case for a new attraction such as an Irish diaspora centre, based on something like the Ellis Island museum in New York", he is quoted as saying in the Sunday Times. Mr O'Donoghue made the remarks as he discussed raising Ireland's tourism potential through the development of cultural and tourism centres.

Read the entire article at the Sunday Times website.

Church marks World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Yesterday was the Catholic Church's 93rd World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and this year's theme was "the migrant family".

Éan Board Chair Rr Alan Hilliard gets prominent coverage in the Irish Times with remarks calling for the reunification of families. Fr Hilliard, who is also the secretary of the Irish Catholic bishop's department of pastoral care, is quoted in the report as saying, "Immigration policy should be about people first. Migrants by their nature live far away from those they love. Often this is due to economic necessity, and this in turn can be compounded by restrictive immigration laws."

He adds, "Currently in Ireland there are over 100 Catholic religious services for the pastoral support of our immigrant communities. The provision of these religious services, which show respect for the language and customs of the immigrant, is an important initiative to cultivate a spirit of welcome and to facilitate the journey to integration."

Pope Benedict issued a statement to mark the day; it is available on the Vatican website.

Trade delegation to include visit with expats

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will meet with some of the 1,000 Irish expats living in Saudi Arabia during his visit there this week, according to the Irish Times. Mr Ahern is making an official visit, accompanied by about 170 people on a business delegation organised by Enterprise Ireland. The group, which will also go to Dubai, includes the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; the Minister for Education and Science; and the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

Enterprise the answer for older car renters?

Maximum age limits on car rentals can be a major impediment to older emigrants who would like to return home for a visit, Sheila Gleeson of the Coalition for Irish Immmigration Centers in the US has told your correspondent.

Éan has done some research on this, and it seems that this type of discrimination is actually legal, as insurance companies may discriminate on an age basis as long as they can claim it is for commercial reasons.

We have discovered, however, that Enterprise Rent-A-Car has no upper age limit, and does not impose an insurance surcharge on older renters.

Hertz will rent to drivers up to the age of 79 if the driver has:
- a letter from a doctor to say he or she has been in good health for the last year
- a letter from the driver's insurance company saying he or she has not been in an accident for the last five years.

Alamo and National rent cars to those up to 74.
Europcar rents only up to 70.
Avis age limits range from 65 to 74, depending on the type of car.

More information on maximum car rentals is available at about.com.

Flight of the Earls commemorated

The four-hundredth anniversary of the Flight of the Earls, one of the seminal events in the early history of emigration from Ireland is being commemorated this year. The Flight of the Earls, of course, marked the end of the old Gaelic aristocracy. Hugh O’Neill and Rory O’Donnell, fearing arrest by the new Lord Deputy of Ireland, fled to the Continent along with ninety of their followers. They set sail from Rathmullen, Co Donegal, and their departure cleared the way for the Plantation of Ulster.

The men intended to go to Spain, where they hoped to gain support from the King and then return to liberate Ireland. They never returned. Many of the men became officers in the Spanish Army, while Rory O’Donnell and Hugh O’Neill both died in Rome – O’Donnell in 1608 and O’Neill in 1616.

The Flight of the Earls is enormously important for those interested in emigration history. Dr John McCavitt says in his Flight of the Earls website:

Perhaps the most important aspect of the Flight of the Earls for people of Irish descent, and for countries that the Irish migrated to, is that the Flight effectively inaugurated the Irish diaspora. The early seventeenth century witnessed Irish men and women dispersed as far afield as the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Newfoundland, even the Amazon (O'Briens). As a direct result of the Flight, Irish soldiers, the original ‘wild geese’, saw service in Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Russia.

The official website for the commemoration was launched in Donegal last night. Events will include a conference in February; the production of "Making History", Brian Friel's play about the flight; a history conference in May; a summer school and more.

See the Flight of the Earls Commemoration website.

Broadcasting Bill would require provision for emigrants

The Oireachtas Communications Committee has been holding public hearings over the last two days over the proposed Broadcasting Bill. Of interest to emigrants is the section of the bill that would require RTÉ to provide TV to Irish communities abroad; the legislation allows for the use of license funding for this purpose.

The programming would have to be reflective of RTE One and Two, as well as Irish-language channel TG4.

In announcing the publication of the bill last month, Communications Minister Noel Dempsey Dempsey said:

It is intended that RTÉ will produce a service that reflects and represents the content of the channels currently available in Ireland - RTÉ1, RTÉ2 and TG4 will contribute to this service. This service will now be a fundamental part of RTÉ’s remit. The 2002 Report of the Task Force on policy regarding emigrants noted that the issue of contact with Ireland and the desire for information about contemporary Ireland is very important to Irish communities abroad, particularly the elderly. The Task Force recommend that consideration be given to developing the role of television as a contact point for the Irish abroad and that funding be made available for the provision of such a service.

The webcast meeting archive is online at econsultation.ie.

More information and a link to the public discussion forum are also online at econsultation.ie. The discussion forum will run until January 24.

See the broadcasting bill at Oireachtas.ie. (Section 3 is the one relating to broadcasting to emigrants.)

Hopes for reform rise as Congress resumes

As US Congress resumes its work this week, New York's Irish Echo says that expectations are rising that that the Senate will pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill by spring. Ray O'Hanlon says a Senate bill on the issue, written by Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator John McCain, is slated for unveiling in January; a two to three month period of deliberation is likely. This bill will be similar to last year's McCain/Kennedy reform bill, but it may not require undocumented immigrants to first leave the US before undergoing the process of earning legal US residence. This would be a significant improvement, as current legislation would ban undocumented immigrants from returning to the US for periods as long as ten years.

The report says the House of Representatives is likely to take longer to pass its own immigration measure, although it is now being written by Democratic Representative Luis Gutierez and Republican Representative Jeff Flake. The battle over immigration reform is likely to be more contentious in the House; some of the incoming Democratic senators had campaigned against measures that would legalise the undocumented.

Meanwhile, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform is planning to rally in Washington on March 7.

Read more on the Irish Echo website.

Golf tournament to benefit Irish in Britain

A major golf tournament in Ireland next year will benefit elderly Irish in Britain. The Safe Start Agency is joining with the Union of Irish Golf Societies and the Irish Post newspaper for a tournament that will involve 250 teams playing a championship course in each of the four provinces. Monies raised will go toward an expansion of services designed to prevent isolation of the elderly Irish in Britain. The Safe Start Foundation is an employment, training and accommodation charity. Based in Cricklewood, it was started in 1988 by Irish emigrants and is funded by Dion.

More information in the Carlow Nationalist.

Taoiseach speaks on Irish in Britain

The Taoiseach has spoken about such issues as free travel for pensioners, RTE broadcasting abroad, and support for returning emigrants in an interview with Britain's Irish Post.

On free travel, Mr Ahern said that extending free travel to Irish pensioners resident in Britain "remains a priority of this government", but he did not give a timeline. He did note that from early 2007, an all-island free travel scheme would be in place for pensioners North and South. He added that extension of the free travel was "about recognising the debt of gratititude we owe to the Irish in Britain who helped to build the successful country we now have".
He also said that EU laws prevent extending the entitlement to free travel only to Irish-born people living abroad as it would be contrary to legislation prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of nationality; it would also be against EU law to extend the scheme to people receiving Irish pensions outside the state.


On the issue of supporting older Irish people who are interested in returning to Ireland, Mr Ahern highlighted the role of member agency Emigrant Advice. He noted the updated information guide "Returning to Ireland" which is available through Irish immigrant centres abroad, embassies and consulates, as well as information providers in Ireland such as Citizens Information Centres, FÁS offices, and Social Welfare offices.

Regarding the potential for RTE broadcasting into British homes, Mr Ahern noted that the new Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006 will be enacted early this year. He said the Bill intends for RTE to produce a service that will reflect the content of the channels currently available in Ireland; TG4 will contribute. The means of transmission (terrestrial, cable, or satellite) are not specified in the bill "and RTE will have to explore these possibilities".

When asked about the most important issues facing the Irish government in relation to Irish people in Britain, Mr Ahern said the biggest issue is "how we cherish our senior citizens". He noted that "many of our people were forced to leave Ireland for economic reasons and endured particular hardship and difficulties as a result.
Of course so many members of our community in Britain have done so well and there are Irish people at the top of every walk of life in Britain but we must also remember those for whom life has not been so fortunate."

He noted that the Irish government had provided £7 million to assist the Irish community in Britain, "and the vast bulk of this funding goes to help the elderly members of our community, helping to provide advice centres, social functions, health and housing support and a plethora of other services."

He named interaction with second and third-generation Irish in Britain as another important issue, and stressed the importance of a continuing connection with Ireland.

Mr Ahern also noted the importance of the Irish in Britain in contributing to Ireland and Anglo-Irish relations.

The Taoiseach concluded the interview by saying that the Irish in Britain are not forgotten: "There can be few houses in Ireland where a candle is not lit to remind them of loved ones abroad and it is this link between home and our community abroad which is ever enduring."

Read the entire interview at the Irish Post newspaper site.

Irish Diaspora site showcases academic work

Anyone interested in the Irish world abroad from an academic standpoint should be aware of the Irish Diaspora Studies scholarly network's website at irishdiaspora.net. It's run by Patrick O'Sullivan of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit at the University of Bradford.

It's a valuable resources, with book reviews, academic notices, and links to other resources - as well as papers on topics such as "Teaching the Irish Diaspora", "The Irish in South America", "Literature of the Irish Diaspora", "Irish Military History", and much more.

Visit irishdiaspora.net

Aisling Center's book a sell-out hit

New York's Aisling Irish Community Center's collection of memoirs written by Irish immigrants who arrived between 1927 and 1964 has become a hit. One local paper calls "While Mem'ry Brings Us Back Again" the "'it' gift" of the holiday season.

The Journal News reports that the first edition of 1,500 copies has already sold out, with orders coming from as far away as Massachusetts, Florida, California and Ireland. A second printing is due in January.

The paper quotes Aisling Board of Directors member John Mooney, who says little had generation, and they've laid the groundwork of first- and second-generation immigrants to become so successful," he said.been written about this generation of immigrants. "This was sort of the silent

On a personal note, your correspondent ordered the book as a gift for her father, a Kilkennyman who left for New York in 1963 - only to find he had not only already read the book but had also bought three copies to give to friends.

Read the Journal News article.

Read the original post on the project.

Order the book from the Aisling Irish Community Center.

Australian groups awarded grants

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has announced over €100,000 in grants to several groups in Australia. The money is going to three Irish welfare centres and to Melbourne Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

The Minister said:

The Welfare Centres in Sydney and Melbourne are now taking on staff to develop their services. I am delighted to increase funding to these groups that do such invaluable work to support our communities in Australia. The centre in Woolongong, for instance, is engaged in community care to older Irish people who travelled to Australia some 50 years ago to work in the mines and factories of this industrialised area which has since experienced significant economic decline.

While the focus of our efforts is inevitably in support of our vulnerable citizens in Britain, and also in the US, we must never ever forget that there are older and vulnerable Irish people elsewhere in the world who need our help, including as the present grants show in Australia.

RTE programmes focus on emigrants

RTE has a few interesting productions coming up.

Tonight, it will screen “Duffy’s Cut”, the story of 57 Irish labourers who arrived in Pennsylvania in June, 1832 to construct a railroad. The men, who were mainly from Donegal, Derry and Tyrone, were all dead within six weeks; they were buried in a mass grave. While cholera claimed many, others were apparently murdered by neighbours fearing the plague.

An archaeological project by Immaculata University has been unearthing items which may have belonged to the men, including clay pipes, buttons and coins. The project is hoping to identify the exact location of the burial grounds on the one-acre site known as Duffy’s Cut. They are hoping that they will be able to investigate whether the men were victims of violence, and plan to rebury the men in a nearby church graveyard.

The network will also screen a new series focusing on Irish families who have moved abroad. “The Great Escape” producers say the programme is "about people making radical moves and changes in their lives by relocating to another country in search of a better life. The first programme will follow a family who left Swords in 2004 to move to France; it airs on January 8.

Christmas homecomings changing with Ireland

The Irish Emigrant newsletter highlights the fact that the familiar stories of emigrants arriving home at Christmas has taken new twists now that there are so many immigrants in Ireland.

As recently as ten years ago the arrival of emigrants, returning home for Christmas, was the top story on most news bulletins in the days prior to Christmas. It still makes news but alongside a new phenomenon, that of immigrants going home to places such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia to be with their families at Christmas. We also have significant numbers of parents of immigrants arriving in Dublin from eastern Europe to spend Christmas in Ireland in the company of their sons and daughters.

The newsletter also reported that President Mary McAleese sent a Christmas greeting to the Irish troops serving overseas with the UN via a live video link.

Visit the Irish Emigrant website.

Department of Foreign Affairs announces additional funding

Minister for Foreign Affairs announced on December 28 that the Government would give an additional €2 million to help emigrants. Of that funding, €1.6 million will go to nine Irish organisations in Britain to develop facilities for local communities.

Mr Ahern said, "My particular priority has been to ensure that this additional support is targeted to services for our older and most vulnerable community in Britain”. He added, "We have a clear responsibility to this section of our community at all times, but especially so at this Christmas season."

Report highlights emigration from NI and Britain

More than 2,300 people emigrated from Northern Ireland last year, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research in the UK, as reported in the Belfast Telegraph. The report, 'Brits Abroad: Mapping the scale and nature of British emigration', found that 5.5 million people born in the UK are living abroad.

The most popular destinations and their corresponding number of resident UK natives are as follows:
Australia - 1,300,000
Spain - 761,000
United States - 678,000
Canada - 603,000
Republic of Ireland - 291,000
New Zealand - 215,000
South Africa - 212,000
France - 200,000

Interestingly, the report found that the number of UK citizens moving abroad permanently doubled between 2001 and 2005, from 53,000 to 107,000.

The newspaper report quoted Dr Patrick Fitzgerald, lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies, Omagh, on the continuing phenomenon of emigration:

Our focus on inward migration has overshadowed continued emigration.

We are getting 'lifestyle' migration with people moving in significant levels for warmer weather, cheaper fuel and property, particularly in the Costas of Spain.

'Brain Drain' is a major issue. Students are still reliant on universities in Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Internal migration can lead to onward migration and a loss of skills to the Northern Ireland economy. People still need to leave Northern Ireland for educational economic and employment reasons, though perhaps not to the extent they did in the seventies and eighties.

The newspaper queried Queens University students on their feelings about whether they would like to emigrate; many replied that they would consider emigration, with several citing the fact that Northern Ireland is a small place and there would be more job opportunities elsewhere.

The Institute for Public Policy Research is calling for greater engagement with UK citizens abroad. In the Report’s Executive Summary, it concludes:

Given the importance of emigration from the UK, this report suggests that UK policymakers should pay more attention to the issue. The UK government should follow the lead of several other countries and engage more with its diaspora. Such engagement would allow the UK to harness the potential of Britons living abroad to promote trade and investment links, develop overseas knowledge networks, and act as cultural ambassadors. More should also be done to promote the political participation of Britons living abroad and to make the most of returning Britons.

Read the Belfast Telegraph Article.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2074006.ece

The Belfast Telegraph has a fascinating in-depth look at the issue in its “Brits Abroad” section.

Order “Brits Abroad: Mapping the scale and nature of British emigration” from the Institute for Public Policy Research. You may also download the Executive Summary from there.

Returning emigrant finds Irish peculiar

Today's Irish Times Health Supplement takes a look at a returned emigrant who, recently diagnosed with cancer, is seeking to set up a centre for people who are looking to cope with a "life challenge".

While the focus of the article is on business consultant Joseph Daly's fight against his ailment and intentions to set up the Tamhnach Center, it also contains some interesting thoughts on his return.

Joseph came from Longwood, Co Meath and left Ireland to see the world after finishing school. He lived mostly in South Africa but also in Germany and Greece, and traveled extensively. Of his return he says:

We found settling into Ireland one of the most difficult things we had ever done. It is my home country but so much has changed in the past 20 years. We found it easier settling into a completely foreign country like Greece where we knew nobody and spoke a different language.

The Irish are peculiar. If you have been abroad and have been successful in any way, there is a certain begrudgery; you are seen as coming back with fancy ideas.

Read the article on the Irish Times website.