asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to the annual report of the Irish Centre Welfare Department in London which states that some of the girls who emigrated from this country to Britain were in the 14 to 16 age group; and if he contemplates taking any special steps to dissuade young people from emigrating.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Emigration of Young People.
19.
I have seen the report mentioned by the Deputy. In October last I appointed a widely representative committee to advise generally on the problems of Irish workers contemplating leaving the country. The committee has already made a number of suggestions and I am having them examined.
Money is provided in the Vote for my Department to assist voluntary organisations here which give information and advice to intending emigrants. One of the main reasons for making public funds available to these bodies is to equip them to draw the attention of young persons to job opportunities in this country with a view to dissuading them from emigrating.
In view of the fact that in our urban areas at least there is employment for young people, could the Department of Labour, by public announcement in the papers, give this fact the necessary publicity? Would the Minister consider putting some control on the emigration of young people or at least asking that before they emigrate they have parental permission to do so? We have a very serious problem here; young people are going to English cities at a most difficult time of their lives and they are being lost to this country.
This has always been a question of whether there should be controls. The Government have always resisted bringing in any control which would, in fact, mean a system of control on the outflow of all persons from the country in order to control a particular category. The need is not as great at the moment because, with the Irish centres operating and the bureaux here, there is fairly good contact with the movement of people. Advice is given regarding job opportunities at home. It might not always be accepted but the annual report of the Irish Centre in London states that the numbers in these age groups known to the centre who have emigrated last year are fewer than they have been for a long time.