Ciaran Staunton testifying at a Dáil committee hearing into the issue of barriers faced by returning emigrants.
By Ray O’Hanlon
You might not think it, but returning to Ireland after living for years in another country is not as easy as one two three.
Even if you are an Irish citizen.
So now the Irish government is looking at ways to make it a more easily navigable process.
The government has commissioned a report aimed at reducing, or removing, barriers faced by those emigrants who make the reverse journey.
The move has been welcomed by Ciaran Staunton of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform who has lately expanded his campaigning to include advocacy on behalf of those who return to Ireland.
Ciarán Cannon, Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, announced the appointment of consultants Indecon to undertake what a release described as “a detailed economic report on barriers to returning Irish emigrants.”
The report will focus on “identifying solutions to disproportionate or unnecessary administrative burdens that negatively affect people wishing to return to Ireland to live.”
“This government has committed to work to facilitate Irish people living abroad who wish to return to live in Ireland. We are working to ensure that moving or returning to Ireland is as easy as possible for them,” said minister Cannon.
Difficulties reported by Irish people returning to Ireland to live have included getting access to insurance, credit and securing driving licenses.
Added Cannon: “As Minister of State for the Diaspora I chair the Inter-Departmental Committee on the Irish Abroad which works to facilitate a whole of government response to issues affecting Irish people abroad.
“In recent meetings the committee has focused its work on addressing government procedures reported to be negatively affecting returning emigrants.
“This economic report will complement the work of the Inter-Departmental Committee on the Irish Abroad, and in particular, the report will review and propose measures to address difficulties in areas that are not immediately within the remit of departments to alleviate.
“The report will inform government policy and actions in relation to difficulties it finds. People are invited to write to the Irish Abroad Unit at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade if they have examples of specific administrative difficulties they may have experienced in moving home to Ireland to live that could be of relevance in the context of this report.”
Mr. Staunton, in “warmly welcoming” the government announcement said that, as organizer of the first Dáil hearing into the obstacles facing returning Irish emigrants, and having lobbied widely on the issue, he hoped Minister Cannon would set about the “speedy removal of obstacles that can turn the joy of returning Irish citizens into disillusionment and despair.”
Reiterating points he made when appearing before the Dáil committee in February last, the Mayo native said that the Irish state should be encouraging rather than hindering the return of those citizens who had emigrated but had always carried Ireland in their hearts.
“These are simply policy changes that need to be implemented immediately and do not require a report,” Staunton said.
“A 'one-stop' shop needs to be established to facilitate individuals and families that want to return home, ensuring that the process of return is as smooth as possible, he said.
"We need to simplify the process of getting car insurance, buying a house, getting education for children, returning to family farms, getting electricity, getting health insurance."
Pointing out the Irish citizens returning to rural communities faced particular difficulties, Mr. Staunton said that while the minister had announced an economic report it 'was important that the wider social difficulties faced by returning emigrants are also addressed.
“Urging returned emigrants to document examples of specific administrative difficulties they may have experienced in moving home to Ireland to live, Mr. Staunton said that it was important that these be considered by Indecon as it set about compiling its report.
“As someone who has worked closely with the Irish emigrant community here in the States and with returning emigrants to Ireland, I will maintain a close watching brief on the work of Indecon and will work to ensure that the final report will signal a real and fundamental change to the experience of Irish citizens returning to their native country after living and working abroad,” Mr. Staunton said.
