Dick Spring
Ceist:38 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will set up a task force on emigration.
Written Answers. - Committee on Emigration.
The Government are very much aware of the need for a co-ordinated and structured approach to the tragic problem of emigration. For this reason we decided to establish an inter-departmental committee on emigration to ensure that the issue is tackled in a comprehensive fashion and that the activities of those departments most immediately involved in emigration matters are co-ordinated. The committee, which is under the chairmanship of my Department, has representatives from the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Labour, Finance, Education, Health, Social Welfare and the Environment and has met regularly since its first meeting in July 1988.
The House is already fully aware of the action the Government have taken in the United States to achieve legislative reform and to bring together the various organisations working there in order to provide a network of advice and welfare services for our citizens. We have allocated, in last week's budget, funds to assist the work of these organisations. In the United Kingdom, the provision of funding for emigrant welfare services has been co-ordinated for many years through the DÍON committee which operates under the auspices of the embassy in London.