The traditional exodus on St. Patrick's Day of Ministers to 25 different locations around the world where they will meet Irish immigrant communities and do the business of Ireland will occur again. In that regard, I wish to ask the Taoiseach about our less successful emigrants, many of whom have fallen on very hard times, especially in a number of British cities, living in unimaginable isolation and squalor, as was evident in a recent television programme. In that context, will the Taoiseach inform the House about the task force that reported to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on emigrants in August 2002?

The task force recommended the creation of an Irish agency abroad and the provision of €18 million in 2003, rising to €34 million in its entirety. Up to €8 million of this would go to welfare services for those in the most desperate conditions. These were the people, who in the bad days of the 1950s and 1960s, remitted moneys home, without which many families would not have been able to survive. Now, those people have fallen on hard times. The €8 million was a small amount of money during the Celtic tiger and the booming economy, yet the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, responded by cutting the €2.7 million that was paid to DION by 5% for 2003. On 27 January, during the debate on the Labour Party motion on the plight of Irish emigrants, Deputy Cowen said: "... I am determined that we can and will do better as quickly as possible." He also said: "I hope to be able to find additional funds through savings in my Department's Vote later this year."

Will the Taoiseach set up the agency for the Irish abroad as requested by Bishop Hegarty on behalf of the bishops' commission on our emigrants? Will additional moneys be provided? Will any of the 17 recommendations in the task force report, which were duly ignored by the Government on receipt in August 2002, be implemented?

Next week, Government Ministers will engage in the celebration of the national feast day throughout the world. We hope to link this, as always, with political, cultural and tourism work. Detailed briefs have been given by the various Departments and agencies. Work has gone on since Christmas to ensure that the trips are not just for attending parades but also detailed meetings with tourism, political and business groupings.

On Deputy Rabbitte's substantive point on the task force report on Irish emigrants, there was a debate in the House some weeks ago and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, referred during that debate to the report. Since 1997, €18 million has been provided in DION grants. That, by and large, goes to welfare services, services for the elderly and to assist people who are less well-off. As Deputy Rabbitte has outlined, many people left Ireland in previous years who worked abroad and who now have not got proper pensions or insurance schemes. Approximately two thirds of the recommendations made by the advisory group are already under way. The handling of DION grants has been moved from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to the Department of Foreign Affairs. It has been decided not to set up dedicated agencies but instead a unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs, chaired by the Secretary General, to decide on these issues.

Since the report was published, the Department has been meeting fortnightly, if not weekly, with emigrant groups to co-ordinate activities in assisting them. To assist on the ground in London, grants have been given to the Irish agencies in England. They are in the process of appointing development officers on the ground in the various regions to better use the resources allocated to Irish agencies and to leverage funds from local authorities in Britain so as to better co-ordinate welfare efforts for the elderly. It is believed that dedicating development officers on the ground will lead to better co-ordination of welfare activities.

Two thirds of the report's recommendations are already in place. The group is meeting fortnightly, if not weekly. There will be a dedicated unit set up in the Department of Foreign Affairs rather than an agency. The Government will continue to fund DION as I have outlined.

I did not make any remark either way about the merits of the ministerial visits to 25 locations. I am not raising that point.

I accept that.

I am raising the question of the provision this State is making for people whom we forced out in the 1950s and 1960s with little formal education, some of whom have fallen on hard times in British cities and who are living in the most unimaginable conditions, as was seen in a recent television programme. The two key recommendations in the report are Bishop Hegarty's call for the establishment of an agency for the Irish abroad and increased funding. They recommended a provision of €18 million in 2003. The response of the Minister for Foreign Affairs was to cut the €2.7 million that had been provided to €2.5 million in 2003.

Will the Taoiseach set up the agency? He seems to say that he will not. How can a committee or unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs do the same job? How could the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, preoccupied as he is with other duties, have been expected to have given the matter a higher ranking than it manifestly has had? The report of the task force was ignored and nothing was done. Is it a matter for the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs? If Bishop Hegarty and others who have worked with emigrants in poor conditions abroad recommend an agency, does that recommendation not have a great deal of merit? That is argued at some length in the report given to the Government.

On funding, the Taoiseach can provide €18 million to store the electronic voting equipment of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which is more than it costs us to vote at the moment, but he cannot provide that kind of money for Irish people who, through their remittances, kept families alive in parts of Ireland in those years.

There are about 70 recommendations in the commission report. About two thirds of those, that is about 50, are being implemented. As soon as the report was received, an interdepartmental group was set up. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, reported on that to the House in a recent Private Members' Business debate.

No money.

There was additional——

No money.

If Deputy Stagg continues to interrupt, he will have to leave the House.

Around the edges there is no money. The emigrants sent back €3.5 billion, and we have no money for them. The Taoiseach is miserable.

Does Deputy Stagg wish to leave the House? The Chair will facilitate him.

I think I do wish to leave the House.

The Minister, Deputy Cowen, did not report; he was dragged in here on our Private Members' motion.

Additional resources were given to DION in the previous budget and, as I stated, in recent years DION has continued to receive additional resources. More importantly, to help the individuals who were highlighted in the programme——

The essentials are left out.

—development workers and their salaries are now being linked to the agencies at home and abroad to equip them as I indicated earlier.

Rubbish. What was the report for?

If Deputy Stagg interrupts once more, he will leave the House.

We can all leave the house.

I will not point out how much money used to be given to DION. A substantial amount of money is being given now, but more than——

Substantial money is not being given.

Deputy Stagg will leave the House.

Last year, €18 million was given to Punchestown and DION only gets something like €2.5 million.

Deputy Stagg will leave the House.

The Taoiseach should be ashamed of himself.

I am dealing with a point of disorder.

What about the people who are in need?

The Ceann Comhairle is dealing with Deputy Stagg, but he is not dealing fairly.

Deputy Stagg will leave the House. If he does not, I will have no choice but to name him.

That is what we got from Fianna Fáil — a one-way ticket.

Suspension of Member.

I move: "That Deputy Stagg be suspended from the service of the Dáil."

Shameful.

Outrageous.

Is the motion being opposed?

Disgrace. That is exactly what Fianna Fáil wants.

Under Standing Order 61, any division is postponed to take place immediately before the order of business the next sitting day. Deputy Stagg must now leave the House.

It is an absolute scandal. The Taoiseach can find millions of euros for racing courses, but cannot find enough for a human being.

Deputy Stagg is going with honour, unlike the Taoiseach.

Deputy Stagg withdrew from the Chamber.