Diaspora Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Neale Richmond (FG), Dublin Rathdown

I thank the three Deputies for their supplementaries and I will try to rattle through them as quickly as possible. Regarding the emigrant support programme, as I laid out, this year the budget will be €17.5 million. That is the biggest it has ever been. Part of that is to reflect inflationary costs on certain areas but there is always increased demand and need for the services provided. Deputy McCarthy rightly cited the economic opportunities of EU-Australia trade deal, as was laid out by Deputy McCormack as well. Just this year, the Government has opened a consulate in Melbourne to complement the consulate in Sydney and the embassy in Canberra, while Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland have also expanded their teams. That is just in Australia, but around the world we see increasing economic opportunities through our diaspora. It is something I hope the new strategy will have a very distinct emphasis on, particularly in the United States where about 36 million people claim Irish ancestry, be Irish, Ulster-Scots, or Scots-Irish. That is why the Government launched a strong programme marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence, which was signed by many Irish people and has a strong connection to Ireland, both for the cultural and political ties but also the tourism and business ties.
Deputy Neville and I are two of the biggest fans of American football in the House. We see the power of the college football classic every August in Dublin as it brings €130 million into the economy. Equally, with the NFL, we see the opportunities there in terms of sports diplomacy.
In response to Deputy Ó Fearghaíl's question, the Government has laid out a number of programmes, not necessarily though the Department, looking to attract some of our highly skilled emigrants back home from places like Australia, Canada but also the Middle East. There are a number of obstacles that we will cite in the strategy or that we will look to overcome. We hope to conclude a reciprocal driving rights arrangement with the state of New York in the coming months, which will complement arrangements with Canada and Australia. We will also be looking at areas in terms of recognising qualifications and experience gained. Insurance companies are now quoting Irish people who have been driving abroad. We also have banks giving specific packages and programmes. I will elaborate in due course.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26