I move:
That Seanad Éireann calls on the Government to increase its financial and other resources to Irish Emigrant Organisations, many of whom are voluntary, working among our exiles especially in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The purpose of the motion is to draw attention to the recent changes in US immigration legislation which has made life extremely difficult for undocumented Irish people and for the voluntary emigrant organisations which attempt to cater for the huge number of inquiries to their offices. An example is the Irish emigration centre at 18 Tremont Street, Boston. This centre received over 19,000 calls during 1996. However, less than 10 per cent of the total budget for running the centre and its services came from the Irish Government — it amounted to approximately $35,000. This is an abysmal failure on the part of the Government which claims to care for the less well off in society. Irish emigrants are as much a part of Ireland as those of us fortunate to live here. As a former emigrant and a member of the precursor to DÍON, the committee on welfare services abroad from 1979-84, I was able to acquaint myself with the priorities of Irish welfare organisations in Britain.
My colleague, Senator Dan Kiely will deal with the American experience in more detail as he lived there while my emigrant experience is of the United Kingdom, but there are similarities between our experiences. I had the pleasure of visiting the Irish emigration centre in Boston while carrying out public duties during the St. Patrick's week celebrations and I was impressed with the commitment and dedication of what is largely a volunteer service. This centre was established in 1989 and began as a confidential telephone service for emigrants. It has rapidly expanded and maintains the central philosophy of self help and community based empowerment. It has a drop in centre where people come to check the noticeboards, read Irish newspapers, etc. Its support and referral services are key components of its work. It also provides a free legal advice clinic once a month and offers new and established emigrants the opportunity to pursue their job search in a friendly and supportive environment.
I pay tribute to Kieran O'Sullivan from Kanturk, County Cork who works as a paralegal at the centre. He is continuing his studies to become a fully fledged lawyer. He is a credit not only to his family but also to this country and he is doing outstanding work in Boston. Another important part of the centre's work is its outreach programme which concentrates on providing information on a variety of topics and issues relevant to emigrants. In addition, the centre assists newcomers with information on accommodation needs. The work of the Boston centre is mirrored not only across the US wherever there is a large population but also in several centres throughout the UK, the most famous being the Irish centre in Camden Town and the Oblate Fathers' hostel at Quex Road, Kilburn. I admire the outstanding work the Oblate Fathers have done among the Irish community, especially in London but also in Birmingham where the late Fr. Taaffe is revered.
All of these important social centres require increased resources and it is a moral imperative that the Irish State adequately resources their vital work. Sadly, our record over the past 20 years has been lamentable and I point the finger at successive Administrations. We have a blind spot when it comes to helping our emigrants and yet they are our own. In 1983 Deputy Ruairi Quinn was in office and when looking at the reform of welfare services for emigrants, he used the phrase "they are our forgotten people". They have been forgotten by successive Governments. I, therefore, plead with the Government in its dying days to increase its miserly funding for emigrant centres.
The situation in the US is particularly acute. It is feared that new legislation being introduced will drive those who are illegal further underground. The changes taking place to reform welfare and immigration legislation will have a considerable impact on Irish illegal aliens in America. For example, under the new welfare reform laws all non citizens, including those with green cards or legal permanent residents, are disturk qualified from two major federal assistance programmes — food stamps, a Government subsidy of basic food purchases for the poor and supplementary security income which is cash assistance to low income persons who are blind, aged or disabled. The new laws also permit individual states to bar legal immigrants from three federal programmes administered at state level if they so decide — non emergency Medicaid, a Government subsidy of health care costs for the poor; Title XX social services block grants, including day care, some subsidised housing for the elderly, care for the disabled and domestic violence programmes and Temporary Aid for Needy Families formerly called Aid to Families with dependent children.
Under immigration reform laws new harsher penalties face those who enter or overstay in the US. Anyone unlawfully present from six months to one year and who left voluntarily before the Immigration and Naturalisation Service began removal proceedings against them will be barred from re-entry for three years. Anyone unlawfully present for more than one year will be barred from re-entry for ten years. Very little relief is available for those undergoing deportation proceedings as cancellation of removal is granted only to those who can prove ten years' continuous residence as well as extreme and unusual hardship posed by deportation.
It is now more difficult than ever to bring family members to the US as immigrants. Those who wish to sponsor their family members as immigrants have to prove that their income is at least 125 per cent of the poverty level of a household that will include the prospective immigrant and they must sign an affidavit of support that will be legally binding. These provisions will make it extremely difficult for undocumented residents to find sponsors. The volunteers in the outreach programmes in Boston see the problems I have outlined daily. Some callers are suffering depression, while others are turning to drink and drugs to alleviate the loneliness and fear.
There is a grave misconception that all those who go to America do well. The truth is that many slip through the system. The Boston Globe of 10 February 1997 carried a story about a 70 year old Irish emigrant called Marie Sullivan. Miss Sullivan was buried in a part of a Boston cemetery called the welfare plot. We would call it the paupers' plot. She was originally from Ireland, though nobody knows where, and she told a friend she longed to return. She was a widow whose husband died in her arms, and was an independent and private person. That secretiveness prevented friends from knowing if she had any family in Ireland to contact when she collapsed and lay in a coma for ten days before dying in a Cambridge, Massachusetts, hospital. Marie Sullivan was what we would call a “bag lady”. She wore layers of clothing and often had a cart or carriage in tow. She sat in fast food restaurants not to eat but to keep warm.
There are hundreds of Marie Sullivans in England and America that deserve to be helped. The job is usually left to the Irish centres. They have neither the personnel nor the finance to deal with the increasing problems facing our citizens who are down on their luck.
At the outset, I referred to the consequences of changes to the emigration and welfare legislation. It is imperative that action should be taken on two fronts. One reason is the severe pressure on the resources of the emigrants' centres, particularly in the US. There is a need to provide them with extra resources. Second, there is a continuous need to increase funding for the many problems of broken and dysfunctional families in the UK.
Is there any possibility that the FÁS programme could second people to the Irish centres in Britain and the US who could help in the welfare context? The Government might be able to provide benefit in kind if resources are under strain. I am unsure of the constitutional implications, but FÁS operates in the building industry in Germany. The emigrants' centres, particularly those in Boston, would be happy to make a submission to the relevant Department.
My reason for raising this was my experience in Boston in March. The cause of emigrants is sometimes put on the back burner. I am emotional and passionate about this because I had to take the boat to England. Those were happy times, but it was forced emigration. People who have not experienced this cannot fully understand the gut-wrenching feeling of turning back to watch Dún Laoghaire harbour as one leaves it, perhaps for a long time, and without knowing if one will be able to return to one's native land to live. Any Government that represents this State should ensure it is a priority that resources are provided for this matter.