asked the Minister for External Affairs when he last visited any gathering of Irish emigrants in Britain; and if he will make arrangements to pay frequent visits to Irish emigrants in large centres in Britain in order to hear expressions of their opinions and needs.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Visits to Irish Emigrants.
28.
I am well aware of the opinions and needs of Irish citizens living in Great Britain as I am in constant communication with them through meeting individuals and groups, through correspondence and through the Ambassador and staff of our Embassy in London.
I have not attended a specifically Irish function in Great Britain within the last three and a half years but at least 30 such functions have been attended by the Taoiseach and other Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries.
I may add that seven years ago I appointed a special officer in our Embassy to keep contact with Irish societies and within the last few months I appointed for the same purpose an officer with the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary.
Does the Minister not consider it desirable, having regard to the many problems of Irish emigrants in Britain, that he should make a personal effort as Minister for External Affairs to meet and consult with the Irish emigrants' organisations in London, Birmingham, Coventry, Leeds, Bradford and other large centres where the Irish emigrants have many problems which cannot be satisfactorily dealt with by the correspondence which the Minister has mentioned? Does the Minister not agree that he cannot wash his hands of responsibility for Irish emigrants and that the Government have a responsibility? Surely the Minister would consider it beneficial in the interests of the Irish emigrants and the solving of their problems to at least go over and see for himself, for example, the conditions in Camden Town?
We cannot have a speech on this question.
The Minister must realise that Irish emigrants have many problems and that it would be much better, instead of "hobnobbing" around New York and Washington, if he devoted some of his energies towards the problems of the Irish emigrants?
I am fully aware of the problems and opinions of the Irish in Great Britain. I do not rely on the few visits that a Minister here can make and I, for the first time, when the emigration was less than half of what it was in the Coalition time——
Keep it clean now.
I am keeping it clean. For the first time I appointed a special officer in our Embassy to keep contact with all the Irish and within the last few months, with the approval of the Minister for Finance and the Government, we have decided to appoint a Minister Plenipotentiary so that he can go around and keep contact with the Irish in these various centres.