Vol. 472 No. 1
5 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Taoiseach the statistics, if any, his Department has on the number of Irish emigrants who have set up companies and businesses outside the country; the type of employment given; and if he will give a breakdown of the numbers leaving each county. [21614/96]
The annual population and migration estimates produced by the Central Statistics Office classify emigrants by sex, age group and country of destination. However, there is no basis for determining if emigrants have set up companies or businesses outside Ireland.
The White Paper on Foreign Policy, Challenges and Opportunities Abroad, and the Fianna Fáil document by Deputy Ray Burke emphasise the need to keep in contact with our emigrants. Does the Minister of State see a role for the Government in being in contact with emigrants and, if possible, in encouraging them to locate their businesses in Ireland?
All Governments have determined to retain maximum contact with our diaspora — people who have left this island and people who claim Irish origins. There have been many initiatives, for example, the DÍON fund which assists housing initiatives in the United Kingdom in particular. In addition, there are initiatives in obtaining visas. County associations also link on a regular basis with various Departments here. There is a great deal of liaison and interaction between the Government, Departments and our emigrants.
While it is desirable to have a process to track Irish people who set up businesses overseas, I am at a loss as to know what kind of system or device could be put in place to produce accurate statistics. We are open to suggestions about what kind of mechanism could be introduced to do that.
The White Paper talks about emigrants investing here and helping with exports and tourism. When it is clearly mentioned in the White Paper that these avenues should be explored and encouraged, does the Minister of State see a role for the Government in this?
I certainly see a role from the point of view of attracting investment by Irish emigrants who have done well overseas. No matter where one travels one is impressed by the success achieved by Irish people overseas. Last week I was in Chicago on Government business and was amazed by the number of Irish people who have done tremendously well there in the business, legal and political fields, and all of whom broadly proclaim their Irish origins. These people are well known established figures who are leaders in their spheres. In terms of attracting them back, our problem is not identifying them but convincing them to invest and establish here. We have a fairly good database in that regard.
We do not have figures from counties.
