I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to the House. My Commencement matter is on the need for the Minister for Finance to specify what plans are in place to support our citizens returning to Ireland to live and work, specifically in relation to mortgage approval, car insurance, health insurance and all the other issues they face. It is genuinely great news for Ireland, and for families and communities across the country, that emigrants are returning home to live and work. Over 61,500 people have returned to Ireland over the last two years. That tells a powerful story. It shows that Ireland is flying and we have full employment, opportunity and confidence in our future. It also reflects something deeper - people want to come home. They want to raise families here, contribute to their communities and put their skills and experience back into the Irish economy. We do need them.

Returning emigrants are filling vital roles across everyday working life in Ireland, and more are coming even this week, in healthcare, construction, education, hospitality, trades, agriculture and our small businesses. They bring international experience, a strong work ethic and huge value to local economies, especially in rural Ireland. This should be a national success story but, too often, people who do everything right are hitting unnecessary and frustrating blockages when they come home. The biggest issue is housing. Returning emigrants struggle to get immediate mortgage approval, even when they have strong incomes, solid savings and long work histories. Banks are slow to recognise overseas employment and probation periods. They delay decisions and people who have worked abroad for years are treated as if they are starting from scratch. At the same time, the rental market is creating new barriers. People are being asked for references from Irish landlords, even when they have lived abroad for decades. That makes no sense. If people rented in another country or owned their home abroad, that experience should count.

Another major issue is car insurance, which is absolutely essential, especially where I come from in rural Ireland. People are returning with years and sometimes decades of safe driving experience only to be told that their no-claims bonus has expired. Insurance companies then charge inflated premiums, effectively penalising people for having worked abroad. This is not just unfair. It feels like people are being ripped off for coming home. One person was charged up to €4,000 to take out car insurance, so they could claim back their no-claims bonus over a two-year term. It would then reduce, but a charge of €4,000 is just not on. There is also the issue of health insurance. Some returning emigrants are being told that they face waiting periods of up to five years for pre-existing conditions or 12 months before cover even begins. That creates anxiety for families and undermines the sense that Ireland is welcoming its own people home.

None of these problems are unsolvable. They are not about lack of goodwill but systems that have not kept pace with our reality. If we are serious about encouraging more people to return, mortgage providers, insurers and policymakers must work together to recognise overseas work, overseas driving and insurance histories, reduce unnecessary delays and remove barriers that simply do not need to exist. It is a great news story that people are coming home but let us make it worth their while. Let us make Ireland not just a place people want to return to but a place that actively welcomes them back, supports them and values what they bring home. If we get this right, everyone benefits; families, communities, employers and the country as a whole.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. On paper, it sounds good. There are checks and balances in every business, especially among banks and insurance providers, relating to the history of people who are returning. Like anything, it is a paper trail. It is about looking deep into a person's history, whether they have been away for five or ten years, or six months. It is not working with these institutions. Applicants are providing a lot of payslips and so on but some people cannot go back five years or whatever to get mortgage approval. They are moving back to rural Ireland, to County Kerry or wherever, and they cannot put a bid on a house because they cannot get mortgage approval. They can show some history of work and credit from the country they were in and they paid taxes in that country as well. They are finding it extremely hard. They wait and they are pushed out, missing the opportunity to buy the house they want in the area they want to work and live in. I welcome the point about car insurers but a lot of them not accepting emigrants as well and they are paying extreme volumes of money for car insurance. I ask the Minister of State to keep on top of this and make sure easy access is available to these people to meet these requirements when they return home.

The Senator has made a very strong point on behalf of returning emigrants . It is a sign of a good, successful economy that people want to return home. However, with that, some problems arise. There are regulatory frameworks governing the provision of mortgages and car insurance for consumers, which are designed to protect consumers and overall financial stability. Within that overall framework, it is a business decision for mortgage and insurance providers to decide whether to provide a mortgage, loan or car insurance. In considering an application, regulated entities must act in a fair and reasonable manner and seek to serve the best interests of the individual consumer. I will take on board what the Senator said today, and I make a commitment that I will engage with Brokers Ireland, Insurance Ireland and representatives of the banking bodies to make sure that they are dealing with returning emigrants in a fair, proportionate and transparent manner.

If a consumer is not satisfied with how a regulated firm is dealing with them in relation to a mortgage or car insurance, they can make a complaint directly to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. Nobody wants to go down that route. The Senator has made a valid point. Someone who has worked abroad, accumulated savings and had a good track record should be able to transfer that to Ireland. I will raise that point directly on foot of the Senator’s representations with the representative bodies for the bank, Brokers Ireland and Insurance Ireland.

We have a very busy Chamber. Before our next speaker, I welcome students from, Scoil Mhuire, Navan, County Meath. They are all guests of our wonderful County Meath TD, Aisling Dempsey. They are very welcome to the Chamber. I hope they enjoy their visit here.

As I said to the previous visitors, it is customary if a school visits the Seanad that there is no homework for the rest of the day. I always like to extend it for the rest of the week, but I will leave that to the discretion of the students' teacher who is with them. I hope they enjoy the rest of their day here.