I will do my best to respond to the questions that have been posed. We have taken careful notes of all the comments that have been made by members of the committee, including the Chairman. We will report those statements to the Minister to ensure that he understands the full force of them.
Deputy Stagg asked about the agency involved. In the context of the current level of funding the departmental Vote can provide, the Minister does not believe that a substantial part of that should be used to establish and run an administrative body. He believes that, at least for the moment, the thrust of the funding should be focused on providing frontline services to emigrants who are vulnerable and require special assistance or support. The Minister feels that if the level of resources provided increases substantially beyond the existing level, at that stage one could consider using some of that funding to set up an agency. For the moment, however, the Minister believes the focus should be on the frontline services.
The Minister does not see the unit, which he has said he will establish, as being an alternative to the agency. There was a separate recommendation in the task force report for the establishment of a separate unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Minister sees it in that light. He sees the unit as being a potential forerunner of an agency, which might in time evolve into one, but that is for the future.
On the specific question of Teach na hÉireann, if it has put an application to the DION fund for assistance, although the level of resources is still low in absolute terms, there has been a substantial increase in the fund this year, so it has a lot more money with which to respond to requests for assistance. If Teach na hÉireann has applied for a grant, I am sure it will be looked on favourably. We will certainly pass on the Deputy's comments to the DION committee.
Both Deputy Noonan and Senator Kitt sought the reasons people emigrate. Their analysis echoed the views of members of the task force, which was a broadly-based group, including representatives of Irish organisations in Britain and in the United States. The combined view of all the members was that there are many reasons people emigrate. The economic one has been important historically but is not the only one. There are social and other reasons people emigrate. It is not possible at this stage to say definitively what the reasons are and more research is required to do that.
The most recent figures from the Central Statistics Office suggest that there are still approximately 20,000 people leaving the country every year. The majority of those, however — probably 12,000 or 13,000 of them — would be young people leaving for a year or so. Many of them are back-packers going to Australia or other countries. They are not emigrants in the historical sense who were forced to leave, but people who are choosing to leave for a period before returning to make their lives in Ireland. Therefore, the numbers who might fall into the category of involuntary emigrants and who feel they are obliged to leave for one reason or another are relatively small. That there are still people in that category is a source of concern and certainly warrants continuing priority being given to this area.
We all felt enormous sympathy and compassion for the people who were featured in RTE's "Prime Time" programme. Clearly, those whose cases were highlighted have special needs which must be addressed. The Department's view and that of our embassy in London is that while the needs of those particular people are clear and direct, the programme as a whole did not give a balanced picture of the Irish community in Britain. While there are undoubtedly people who require special assistance, many other Irish people have made good lives for themselves in Britain. They have managed to make the transition from one culture to another, which is difficult for any immigrant. They have been able to prosper and have not required special services. I do not mean in any way to diminish the needs of those who require assistance. The Minister accepts fully that there are clear needs and that not enough is being done to address them. In terms of balance and presenting an objective picture of what is being done, however, the Minister does not feel the "Prime Time" programme was absolutely fair.
Senator Kitt referred to returning emigrants. One of the terms of reference of the task force was to consider the needs of returning emigrants. In their travels to England, America and Australia to meet Irish emigrants and the agencies which provide services for them, the members of the task force were struck by the apparent fact that while many emigrants contemplate returning to Ireland, a much smaller number will ultimately do so. There are many reasons for this. For some, the cost involved may be prohibitive and older emigrants may have lost contact with family or friends at home. The cultural shock of returning to Ireland may be as much of a challenge as moving abroad was in the first instance.
The initiative introduced by former Minister of State, Mr. Bobby Molloy, has helped in that it has made it easier for emigrants who wish to return to Ireland to obtain housing. The Chairman pointed out that these people do not have to return before applying for housing and can do so from abroad. We understand that since this initiative was launched, a total of 120 units of accommodation have been offered to returning emigrants. Of those offers, 79 have been taken up. This reflects the fact that not everybody who wants to return home is ultimately able to do so.
The €119,000 to which the briefing paper refers is given, through the DION fund, to agencies in Britain and to the safe home programme in Mulranny to provide advice and information for people who are contemplating returning to Ireland. It is not given in grants to either purchase or rent housing. The cost of the units to which I referred is provided by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government through its subventions to the voluntary housing associations in Ireland. I should clarify that the figures provided in the paper are those which relate to the Department of Foreign Affairs. In addition to the money provided by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Department of Social and Family Affairs provides funding for voluntary agencies in Ireland for pre-emigration advice and information. We are not, therefore, presenting the full picture; we are presenting the picture as it relates to our Department. Other Departments will be able to provide information about what they do.
Deputy O'Donnell stated that the DION fund is adequate. The Minister would not argue with that and accepts that this is the case. He believes, however — he made it clear in the Dáil on 27 January — that responsibility for dealing with the problem of emigration does not rest solely with the Government of Ireland. He was not attempting to diminish his responsibility or that of the Government, he was merely making the point that this is not a problem that can ever be solved by one party. There is a responsibility on the statutory authorities in countries where Irish emigrants settle. There is also a responsibility on the Irish communities in these countries to help their fellow emigrants. These communities have responded generously and actively in the past and in many ways the Irish voluntary agencies abroad have been very much to the fore in terms of meeting the needs of Irish emigrants.
The Minister sees his role in terms not only of providing more money to the voluntary organisations but also of helping them to improve what they are doing by accessing funding from other sources. He also sees it in terms of using his influence and that of the Government to encourage the statutory authorities in other countries to be more aware of the needs of Irish people and improve the services they offer to them.
On the subject of broadcasting, as Deputy O'Donnell correctly said, the service that was provided for Irish people in Britain ceased because it was not commercially viable. The task force accepted that it would probably not be possible to reinstall that service or provide an equivalent without some subvention. One of the recommendations it made was that money should be provided by the Government to fund or part-fund a television and radio service for Irish people abroad in the same way that the Australian Government provides such a service for its emigrants in the Pacific region. We know that RTE would be happy to provide this service if funding was made available. This is one of the many recommendations in the task force report which, as Deputy Stagg stated, cannot be advanced until the funding required is put in place.