Vol. 407 No. 6
76 Mrs. Fennell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that young Irish emigrants in Australia are suffering hardship as a result of chronic unemployment in that country; and if he will issue a warning to prospective travellers about the job difficulty in advance of the summer student exodus; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
According to the Irish Embassy at Canberra, which reports regularly to my Department on the situation of young Irish emigrants in Australia, the current economic recession in that country is not significantly affecting recently arrived emigrants from Ireland. The reason for this is that the majority of Irish emigrants are skilled workers and hence are relatively better placed to obtain employment in the more difficult economic climate at present obtaining in Australia.
Accordingly, it does not seem necessary to issue a warning to potential emigrants, at this time.
