Victor Boyhan urges expanded support for Irish in Britain

Thank you for selecting this commencement matter. I'd like to welcome the Minister and I want to thank him for coming here to directly deal with this issue. So Minister, my commencement matter talks about the need for the Minister to make a statement in the Irish Immigrant Support Programme in the United Kingdom and the ongoing funding opportunities. I suppose I want to start off by saying I spent a week in London the week of St. Patrick's weekend and before it, as did many people both from the Senate and the Dáil in a delegation led by Frankie Fiehan. I want to thank him for that ongoing work and building of that relationship, that important mature new emerging relationship between the islands and I think it's really really important that that continue and I also believe in the word soft power. I think relationships are very very important and as we meet across the various jurisdictions it's important that we develop. You win their hearts you win their minds is an old cliche, an old expression and I firmly believe that and I think for those who were in Westminster last week and in other parts of these islands I think anything that cements relationships has to be positive. So I just want to stay focused I suppose really on the work that the London Irish Centre is doing is excellent. I want to also acknowledge Malcolm Fraser our ambassador and his team in London they do an exceptional job and they too joined us in Westminster and engaged in the dialogue the conversation the social aspects of that visit and I think much was learnt and a greater depth of understanding between us was teased out and developed. So I really want to just touch on the issue of the Irish Emigrant Programme because while we celebrate the great diversity of Ireland and our heritage we also know that so many of our Irish people in the 40s 50s and 60s and 70s left these islands this island by no choice of their own. In May there was social stigma there were many young women who went pregnant and left with a promise that they could come back and they were never welcomed back. I met some of those women last week and there are sad stories. I sat on one of the tubes the other day in London coming from Richmond back up to Westminster and there was an ad on the tube encouraging people to engage with the redress scheme and the mother and baby redress scheme and I thought that was positive so here I don't see that on my buses here or trains or darts but anyway there's an awareness but there isn't a big enough awareness and too many of our citizens of this country of Ireland who are trapped in other parts of the world and I haven't time to talk about America and other places and the undocumented but we know there are many many undocumented Irish struggling in Birmingham Manchester and London and other parts of the UK and I think it's important that we reach out with them so I want to say Minister I am greatly encouraged about the positive work that's happening but I think it is important that we continue to build on that network we continue to support our people they are our people they are of us they are our relations they are our family they are steeped in our sense of Irishness and one of the things you meet when you go to Liverpool and Birmingham and all over the place but particularly last weekend that great sense of pride we they are Irish there's a commonality there's a humanity in all of their stories that we need to respond to and I just hope and I know you are fully commissioned this minister I know of your deep work in building relationships on the islands but can we continue to develop and reach out to the Irish London Centre and the lunch clubs there are many lunch clubs my sister's involved in a lunch club five days a week in Falconwood just outside London where up to 60 people every day come for lunch and support who are 70s and 80s who sometimes need assistance in navigating their social welfare and other issues and support so what I am saying it isn't possible to bring them all home but it is possible to interplay and support the agencies that support our people and I think that's really important and I finish on this point for those of the most vulnerable that were chased out of this country or felt they had to leave for a better life and didn't get that better life we need to continue to advocate and tell them that we are here to support them through the established agencies that you your department and the embassy work for in London and to finish again on this I want to acknowledge the enormous work of our embassy in London and Malcolm Fraser it is greatly encouraging what he is doing and we need more and more of that thank you I would particularly like to thank Senator Boyan for placing this timely commencement matter this morning and I wholeheartedly agree with every point you made Senator and indeed I really appreciate the passion that you brought to this discussion and in line with our current diaspora strategy the government is committed to strengthening the ties between Ireland and our communities overseas and ensuring we look after the most vulnerable of our immigrants Britain remains home to the largest Irish born community outside Ireland it continues to be the most popular destination for those emigrating from Ireland the Irish government has provided financial support to Irish community organizations of Britain since 1984 this is coordinated by the Irish abroad unit of the department of foreign affairs working with the Irish embassy in London and our consulates in Cardiff Edinburgh and Manchester our engagement today is underpinned by the immigrant support program which was launched in 2004 in that time the program was granted over 250 million euro to 900 organizations in 51 countries last year we allocated ESP funding of over 7.8 million euro to 112 organizations in Britain in loan in respect of 202 projects this represented just half of the total ESP budget in addition irish-based organizations such as the GA safe home and cultist curatory errand received funding for their work with our community in Britain over 75 percent of the funding was allocated to frontline services for vulnerable and underrepresented groups in Britain we supported counseling and outreach services on projects which just address social isolation and actively improve the well-being of Irish people we also invested in projects that foster a sense of community nurture our identity and culture overseas and deepen our trade business and education links last month in England i saw firsthand the vital work the immigrant support program is funding when i met with community groups in London Coventry and Birmingham and Senator Boyne i visited those lunch clubs i sat with our with our fellow Irish men and women heard their stories and discussed with them and their story of emigration is in stark contrast to the story of emigration of my generation my peers and perhaps those younger again they had no choice they left Ireland in a different time a darker time with very little skill with very little qualification they took to i think senator Crockwell the other week referred to it the dreaded mail boat as you and i know so well from Dun Laoghaire to Hollyhead and other places they went they were the navvies in the building sites they were the nurses in the hospitals they often met much hardship tough economic times they were prejudiced against and they lived hard lives tough lives but they thrived in their new homes and they didn't for one instance lose their sense of irishness and we should never forget that senator in 2025 we will allocate almost 16 and a half million euro in support of strengthening ties with the diaspora and communities overseas this funding year runs from first of july to the 30th of june each year the 2025-26 immigrant support program open for applications on the 29th of january and close on the 19th of february applications are now being assessed and details and disbursements of grants will be made available over the coming months you refer to it senator an important part of ireland's diaspora strategy is a commitment to heal the relationship with those who left ireland in crisis and survivors of institutional abuse britain is home to the largest number of the numbers of victim of institutional abuse it is estimated that 30 percent of all survivors live in britain and when you talk about the advertisement that you heard in the tube this isn't an issue that's on the news in britain it's not something that has had documentaries uh committed to it it is not in perhaps the social conscious that we all live with every day so that is why we are advertising why people like ambassador fraser who you rightly commend are reaching out to those communities why i met representatives of the survivors we are working very closely with community organizations to this end and in order to make sure that relevant uk departments acts are able to ensure people access to compensation schemes but that it does not negatively affect other welfare supports they may be entitled to the immigrant support program provides funding to community organizations of britain supporting survivors such as the immigrant counseling and psychotherapy organization known as icap the london irish center the coventry irish society and freya in the north of england our funding supports eight full-time posts and two part-time posts to ensure daily case support is provided to the survivor community these organizations have been centrally involved with assisting survivors in britain access the mother and baby institution payment scheme and in brief conclusion at the discretion of alaska here look and as we look to the future it is vital that we support our vibrant and diversity aspect particularly in britain i will continue to ensure that the immigrant support program prioritizes projects that place the welfare and care of our citizens at their heart and those that deepen our ties with their uniquely rich and dynamic irish communities i look forward to engaging with you further senator thank you minister and and i really want to thank you for the detail uh and again your passion for for this really important subject i think the you mentioned that dunleary harbor and i think you you know what and i know it because we both served on that council and where the harbor is and it's known locally as the harbor of tears you can understand why and so many people emigrated they didn't fly they went to mainly to dunleary and to dublin port but dunleary and left there and i suppose two key messages that i i'm very encouraged by here is and you and i'm quoting you here an important part of ireland's diaspora strategy is a commitment to heal the relationship and those who left ireland in crisis and the survivors of institutional abuse britain is home to the largest number of victims of institutional abuse i have had that experience as i've shared in this house i don't like getting emotional i can see people leaving our harbor of tears we've got to reach out to them and we've got to be there for them i thank you minister thank you uh sincerely senator and i just want to reassure everyone in the house but particularly you that not a day goes past that our team in britain in particular doesn't reach out and doesn't allow people to come forgotten to make sure that their pain in some way is addressed and to make sure that this state this cold state that was provided no home for them that forced them to get on the ferry to get on the mail boat leave behind um wrapped in awful emotional distress that the ireland of today the modern republic that you and i love is not the same place and that we will continue in every instinct and through every opportunity to some way address the great miscarriage of justice and sheer evil that was carried out in our institutions over such a long period of time the survivor community in britain perhaps is the most vulnerable at this stage and their age profile is growing older their health is not great they have been hidden they've tried to forget their past they haven't told their new families they haven't told their communities about it and it is our responsibility to reach out to them sensitively appropriately efficiently and make sure the care that we fail to provide for them previously is not lacking in these important years and i commit to you senator that every day i'm in this brief i will make sure that that is done thank you thank you