asked the Minister for Labour if he has any proposals to increase the resources available for emigrant advice services.
4.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Emigrant Advice Services.
3.
asked the Minister for Labour the number of officials in his Department who are designated to look after emigrant services.
12.
(Limerick East) asked the Minister for Labour if any services are provided for emigrants by his Department.
15.
asked the Minister for Labour the services his Department provides for emigrants and intending emigrants.
18.
asked the Minister for Labour if DÍON, the committee on emigrant welfare, which advises him and which operates under the auspices of the Irish Embassy in London has made specific recommendations as to the provision of advice and welfare services for our emigrants in Great Britain in the context of receiving funding from the national lottery.
33.
asked the Minister for Labour if he has given any consideration to improving the services for emigrants provided by his Department.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3, 4, 12, 15, 18 and 33 together.
Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds has been allocated in my Department's Vote for 1989 for assisting voluntary organisations providing emergency services for emigrants to Britain. The grant has been maintained at the 1988 level. Since I became Minister for Labour the allocation in respect of emigrants has been increased by approximately 60 per cent despite the critical Exchequer situation resulting in cutbacks in many other areas. DÍON, the advisory committee on emigrant welfare, advise me on the disbursement of these funds to voluntary bodies, based mainly in Britain. I hope to be able to announce the 1988 DÍON grants shortly.
I have received no recommendation from the DÍON Committee in relation to the provision of advice and welfare services for our emigrants in Britain in the context of funding from the national lottery. However, following an approach by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, I understand that DÍON are considering making a recommendation in the matter to both the Tánaiste and myself.
In addition, FÁS, through their nationwide network of local offices provide a pre-departure counselling and advisory service for intending emigrants which includes the discouragement of unplanned and precipitate emigration and the offer of information on training schemes and employment programmes available locally.
FÁS also have responsibility for the day-to-day administration of SEDOC, the European Community-wide placement system, which provides an information exchange mechanism about job vacancies in the Community. This includes the provision of information on working and living conditions in other member states. These services are constantly under review by FÁS in the context of their priorities and budgetary allocation.
The relevant section in my Department has a staff of eight. They arrange the payment of grants on the recommendation of DÍON to voluntary organisations who provide welfare services for emigrants and they also liaise with FÁS in relation to the provision of their information and advice services for intending emigrants.
The section also deal with a range of other related activities such as the free movement of workers within the European Community, SEDOC, the network of European Placement Services, the granting of work permits to non-nationals for employment within the State and a variety of other issues. The Labour Attaché at the London Embassy, who acts as chairman of the DÍON committee, is also seconded from my Department. Staff from other sections of the Department and at various levels may also be involved from time to time. Since FÁS are responsible for providing pre-departure advisory services a greater number of their staff would be involved.
As Deputies will be aware, the Government's priority is the creation of jobs at home in order to ensure that no-one feels that they are forced to emigrate because of lack of employment. In this connection I am glad to say that the recent labour force survey indicated that employment had increased between April 1987 and April 1988. Independent research agencies have predicted that there will be a further increase in employment in 1989.
Despite what the Minister said in the latter part of his reply in relation to the Government's aspirations for job creation, the facts are that emigration is taking place on a large scale and some of the young people from this country are living in what can only be described as deplorable and tragic conditions in London. I would ask the Minister if he is aware of the tragic conditions in which these people are living and if he can, as a matter of urgency, seek extra funding from the Government? Can he clarify whether or not funding can be made available for these people from the national lottery? I believe that one application has been received from the Kerrymen's Association who are spending about £500,000 on a hostel which is very badly needed in London. Can funds be provided if Government approval is given?
On a number of occasions I have visited welfare centres and chaplaincies. I have also visited excellent houses provided by the Kerrymen's Association. The money provided for DÍON goes towards frontline services on welfare. I understand the Minister for Foreign Affairs has spoken to the DÍON committee who are in fairly regular consultation with members of the Government. When they discussed the matter with him he invited them to make a submission to him and to me on the aspect to which the Deputy has referred. No decision has been made on that matter. The Minister for Foreign Affairs answered a question on it in the House last week in which he said he awaits the submission.
It is sometimes dangerous to mention one organisation because all the organisations are doing very good work, but CARA which helps the Irish homeless are a very fine organisation. They use the resources that are available through the authorities to great advantage. I would very much like to assist them in their efforts in whatever way possible because the work they are doing is exceptional.
Mr. M. Higgins rose.
Order, Deputy Jim Mitchell has a Question tabled; so also has Deputy Michael D. Higgins. I will call Deputy Mitchell.
Can the Minister tell us what services are available from his Department or any other Government agency to emigrants other than in the United Kingdom? Are there any services, for instance, in North America, Australia or the continent of Europe?
I do not wish to give the Deputy a short answer but the non-UK services are outside my brief. There are, of course, other services but as Minister for Labour my only responsibility——
Whose brief is it?
The Minister for Foreign Affairs. FÁS give a substantial amount of information to the European countries through the SEDOC system. They also give information on Australia and America but most of the information which they give relates to the European Community.
Why is there not one Minister responsible for the whole emigrant question and the treatment of emigrants? Is the Minister aware of criticism from leaders of Irish communities in North America about the lack of any apparent coherent policy by the Government for the treatment of emigrants there?
I am not. When in America on other business I met some American groups who are far happier now than they have been for a number of years. Everyone in the House should know they are making substantial progress, something they had not succeeded in doing in recent years.
That is not true.
My question to the Minister deals very specifically with the response that might or might not have been available from a group that advises him. In the opinion that the Minister has expressed to this House, has he taken into account either the conference in London or the conference in Dublin who involve such groups as the Action Group for Irish Youth and their equivalent in London who make specific proposals about the day-to-day needs of young people in London, including 16 to 18 year olds from Dublin who are spending time in hostels? Is it his intention to implement any or all of the proposals of these two conferences of reputable organisations on emigrant welfare?
The group that advise me as Minister for Labour is an excellent group who look after people of all ages, from the youngest of Irish emigrants to quite elderly people. Needless to say I get submissions from all kinds of organisations. I work through the Federation of Irish Societies, the umbrella organisation for several hundred groups. The proposals from DÍON to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and myself cover the various Irish groups who are working in the field. I have met these groups and attended the federation's annual general meeting in the summer. I have met them since then and I am due to meet them again shortly after Christmas. It is dangerous to start dealing with every individual group. I would rather deal through the group which has been set up to deal with emigration matters, DÍON, and, when necessary, through the Federation of Irish Societies.
I wish to clarify a matter which relates to my Question No. 18. I am not asking the Minister to deal with any specific group or individuals. I am asking him to give an undertaking to take into account the recommendations of two conferences, one in London and one in Dublin, at which all the groups were represented. They made very specific proposals and encompassed the work of DÍON.
I will certainly look at those proposals. Some of them involved work on the part of FÁS in various centres which is already taking place.
Does the Minister consider it reasonable of the organisations in London to hope for funding from the national lottery? Have the Government considered that question? Will funds be made available to groups outside the country, in this case needy, worthwhile groups?
I cannot give a straight answer to that question because the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that the question of allocating national lottery funds to provide advice and welfare services for our emigrants in Britain is under consideration. He has asked DÍON to submit recommendations to him in that context. As soon as those recommendations — of which I am aware because I have taken part in some informal discussions — reach him they will be discussed by the Government.
Would the Minister agree that there is need to consider a more co-ordinated policy toward our emigrant question? Would he consider the establishment of more Irish hostels, not alone in the United Kingdom but on the Continent and in North America? Would he also consider following the Greek example, of perhaps establishing FÁS centres on the Continent for the purpose of finding jobs for intending emigrants? Furthermore would he say whether the Government would consider appointing social welfare attachés in critical places abroad where there are groups of Irish immigrants living in appalling conditions? Finally, have the Government any policy of substituting emigrant workers by commuting workers?
That is a very long question and involves an extension of the subject matter of this question.
I might shorten my reply by saying I have not got responsibility for emigrants other than those to the United Kingdom so there would not appear to be much point in my endeavouring to respond to that.
So the Government have no co-ordinated policy.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is responsible for them and has answered questions as recently as last week. On the question of homelessness, CARA is the organisation involved in providing hostel services, the organisation recognised by and working with the Government in the provision of such facilities. With regard to the question of providing services and jobs for intending emigrants I should say that the SEDOC system is now operative under which FÁS have undertaken much work in the course of this year. The computerised Manpower agencies now have comprehensive data in relation to jobs readily available through their nationwide network.
Deputy Deenihan, a final supplementary.
Would the Minister agree that, despite emigration having increased since 1987 by 60,000 and inflation in England having increased considerably more than here, the figure of £250,000 is derisory when one considers the demands being made for advisory services in England? Would the Minister consider extending the remit of DÍON to include the provision of hostel accommodation because that constitutes the major problem obtaining in England? Is the Minister not aware of the problem developing in, for example, Birmingham where in the past three weeks five families arrived with no money or without having made any provision for accommodation and where upwards of ten youths arrived, four of whom were under 15 years of age, who had made no preparation whatsoever for emigrating? Would the Minister consider extending the remit of DÍON to include provision of moneys for the establishment of advice centres in New York and Boston where the problem is more acute than in London?
The Deputy is embarking on a speech. I must remind Deputies that this is Question Time.
I should repeat that DÍON is the committee dealing with our immigrants into the United Kingdom and they have their hands full with that problem. I should say that CARA is strongly represented on the DÍON committee, the former dealing with the homeless. I know the Deputy was in Birmingham recently and in London during the summer. However, he would have to agree that people representing the welfare services there are contending that there is a reduced number of young Irish immigrants, for whatever reason, arriving at their doors. The relevant statistics for the second half of this year will show that to be the case. The Deputy can have those statistics as soon as they come to hand. It is my policy — rather than endeavouring to solve the problem of 15 and 16 year olds arriving at the doors of welfare centres in Birmingham, Slough or elsewhere — to deal with it here under the Youthreach programme rather than deal with an impossible position once they have emigrated. The Youthreach programme will help in preventing young people emigrating, young people who have nothing to do here, who have left the formal education system, with no future. From January they will be offered six months training under that programme. It is my belief that that is the way the problem should be dealt with here.
These are pathetic replies showing great complacency on the part of the Minister, showing a pathetic complacency toward emigrants.
I am calling Question No. 5. We are making very little progress at Question Time today. I am asking both sides of the House to assist the Chair in expediting matters. If necessary I will curtail supplementary questions.
It does not hide the pathetic performance on the part of the Minister.
If Deputy Jim Mitchell visited some of these organisations——
There is no co-ordinated policy; that is for sure.
Please, Deputies, I have called Question No. 5.