asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the total amount of financial aid given for the welfare of Irish emigrants in the United Kingdom; and if it is proposed to give greater aid and, if so, when.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Emigrants' Welfare.
5.
I assume the Deputy refers to expenditure from State funds. Including the salaries of officers in the embassy in London concerned in matters involving the welfare of the Irish in Britain and adding expenditure on the repatriation scheme, grants to emigrant bureaux, the resettlement scheme, and welfare payments by the Department of Social Welfare, the total annual cost of these items to the Exchequer is at present approximately £1,936,000. The Government are at present having examined the question of extra assistance towards the employment of social workers in Britain, but I am not in a position to anticipate what the Government decision will be.
I appreciate there can be some difficulties in this field. Will the Minister consider applying more money to the welfare of young people, apart from ordinary residents, who go away without proper guidance?
The existing schemes are available to people who apply and who come within them. They include a repatriation scheme, grants to emigrant bureaux, a resettlement scheme in the Department of Labour for people returning here, social welfare payments and, of course, the emoluments of officers in the London Embassy concerned in this work. The benefits of these various forms of expenditure are available, as appropriate, to young people. Obviously, social welfare payments, which are a very major aspect, go to the people who are legally entitled to them and they cannot be diverted in favour of a particular group, young or old.
Some of the welfare societies intend applying to the Minister for extra help for the care of these young people and I hope the Minister will consider this very carefully.
The position, as I have said, is that the question of employment of social workers in Britain at the expense of the Government is under consideration.
Would the Government give consideration perhaps to allocating some placement or welfare officers to work in close collaboration with the voluntary committees who run the Irish centres at Camden Town, and the other three or four major centres in Britain, who do a tremendous amount of work on a voluntary basis? Would it be possible for the Government to assign officers to take on some of that burden?
At present the question is being studied as to whether assistance of this kind is required and could appropriately be given or whether it should be given in the form of the allocation of social welfare officers or alternatively in the form of financial assistance to help the organisations concerned to employ social welfare officers. There is no Government commitment in the matter. The desirability of any further action in the matter is at present under consideration and I cannot anticipate that decision.