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Seanad
‹ Order of Business

Diaspora and emigration

Summary

Senator Kieran O’Donnell called for a debate on encouraging skilled young people abroad to return home, linking it to housing, employment and affordability. Exchanges with Senator O’Donnell clarified he meant the diaspora, not community banking.

On a positive note and in the theme of what has come up so far, I was watching the test game between Ireland and Australia last Saturday morning.

It appeared that the bulk of the people attending the match were Irish. A large number of our highly-skilled young people are living abroad. We are reaching full employment here now and it is time to have a debate in the House, with the Minister for the diaspora and the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection present, on how we can encourage people to come home.

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Keep them in our country.

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I want to look at the issue in a positive way. I agree with Senator O'Donnell that we have an issue around affordability but in terms of the sustainability of our economy, I would like to see our diaspora returning here.

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We need to have an informed debate on the issue, which is multi-layered. It is about housing, the employment element, affordability and the ingredients we need to encourage people to return here. In a ten-year period that lost generation found themselves in a position where they had to emigrate. We are facing issues here in terms of skill sets for building houses and so on. Many of those with the necessary skills are now living abroad. I would like to see them return here. I ask the Leader and the Cathaoirleach to facilitate a debate on the young diaspora living in Australia, America, Canada and the United Kingdom who might look to return to Ireland. That would include issues such as the diaspora, housing, employment and education. We need to have that debate because we are reaching full employment here.

On another aspect of this issue and going back to the point made by Senator O'Donnell, because we are nearing full employment those who were long-term unemployed are now getting jobs, many of which are unskilled. We need to examine a model whereby the people get back into employment but upskill while they are in that employment. They will then be re-established in the workforce but they can look up the value chain, so to speak, in terms of jobs. We are in a different sphere now. Ireland is doing well and we have full employment, but that brings its own issues. We are not talking about jobs but about people being able to afford their own homes.

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I was not talking about jobs.

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I know. I am saying we are not talking about them.

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I was talking about greed and the banks.

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I am referring to the first item the Senator raised. I cannot get through all the ones she raised.

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I was talking about greed and the banks.

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Denis O'Donovan An Cathaoirleach Fianna Fáil

Please, Senator O'Donnell.

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I am calling for a debate in the House on the diaspora.

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