This matter stems primarily from an experience I had in January. A friend of mine who was backpacking through Australia was involved in a serious road accident – he was hit by car. A couple of us who were good friends of his travelled to Australia to see him because he was in a bad condition. I am happy to say that he has partially recovered since and has returned home. While I was there, the plight of the Irish emigrant welfare associations, which look after Irish emigrants, was brought to my attention. Based on the representations they made to me, I asked my colleague, Deputy Paul McGrath, to raise a number of issues by means of a Dáil question.
It was brought to my attention that while there are at any given time approximately 280,000 Irish-born people living in the USA and between 85,000 and 90,000 Irish-born people living in Australia, significantly more funding is given by the Irish Government to emigrant welfare organisations in America than to those in Australia. Although there are four times as many Irish emigrants in America than in Australia, the American organisations receive eight times as much funding. This imbalance should be addressed.
In the Sydney area, a committee of nine people works on a voluntary basis for the Australian Irish Welfare Bureau. Last year, the total funding given to the Irish welfare agencies in Australia was in the region of $56,000, Australian, which is a small amount of money when one considers the costs involved and the services they provide.
While I was in Australia, members of the committee were constantly visiting Irish people in Australian hospitals who had no family members with them. That provided great support in times of trouble for them. I am aware that the Irish-Australian welfare bureau in Sydney received in the region of Aus$20,000 in support from the Irish Government last year. That is welcome but, sadly, far from adequate. It was brought to my attention, in relation to the costs of running the organisation, that one of the largest costs incurred in any year was in a situation where a person who had travelled from Ireland died in Australia, in whatever circumstances. The transportation cost of bringing the remains back to Ireland can be up to Aus$10,000, or half the annual grant the organisation receives from the Government.
I appreciate that the national purse strings are being pulled rather tighter. However, the current imbalance is unjustifiable and should be rectified for the future. These organisations provide a massive service for thousands of Irish people who had to leave this country to make a new life in far-flung places, mainly due to economic circumstances at a time when the Celtic tiger was far from these shores. Their efforts deserve greater monetary assistance from the Government. I await the response of the Minister of State.