Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 March 2026
76. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress made to date by her Department in the development of an updated diaspora strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23044/26]
View answer160. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the diaspora strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20218/26]
View answerQuestion No. 76 is in the name of Deputy Noel McCarthy and is grouped with question No. 160.
Like the previous speaker, I also wish Ireland well tonight and hope we will be in the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night for the next stage of it. With the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's indulgence, I will also welcome a school to the Visitor's Gallery today. The school is in my own constituency of Cork East, the national school in Coolagown, and I welcome the pupils and teachers who are there today. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
I ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress made to date by her Department on the development of an updated diaspora strategy.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 160 together.
I thank the Deputies for raising this question. As they know, the Government is committed to deepening our ties with the Irish communities overseas and to ensuring that the welfare of the Irish abroad remains at the heart of our diaspora engagement. In line with the commitment in the programme for Government, the next diaspora strategy is at an advanced stage of drafting and will be published in late April, to coincide with the next global Irish civic forum that will take place on 30 April and 1 May in Croke Park. This strategy will be the third of its kind and was drafted following a wide-ranging consultation process that engaged Irish community, welfare and cultural organisations, as well as business social networks across 28 cities in 19 countries, including formal diaspora consultations in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as in the UAE, Australia, Argentina, Singapore and Kenya. I also met with Irish stakeholders in Dublin and Galway as well as a very productive meeting with Oireachtas Members in Iveagh House last June. Further meetings were also held with relevant Departments and State agencies. These engagements were supplemented by the global Irish survey, the first ever online survey of the Irish abroad, which I launched last July and was available for several weeks throughout the summer of 2025. This survey was open to individuals and organisations and received over 10,000 responses. Respondents also had the option to submit position papers, of which over 40 were received.
While work on finalising the strategy is ongoing, the well-being of the most vulnerable of our diaspora remains a key focus for us. I am also committed to enhancing our outreach to the next generations of the diaspora, strengthening our networks across the globe in order to embrace the experiences and perspectives of the Irish abroad, and supporting those who wish to return to Ireland. I can confirm that the emigrant support programme, ESP, will remain the primary vehicle to manage the Government’s commitments to our diaspora in the next strategy. As this House will be aware, since its establishment in 2004, the ESP has assisted more than 900 charitable and Irish community organisations in 53 countries with over €265 million in grants. The majority of this funding, some 60%, is granted to front-line welfare service providers working with elderly Irish emigrants and other vulnerable members of our communities. These organisations working closely with our embassies and consulates, particularly in Great Britain, the US, Canada and Australia, provide crucial support, often at times of crisis, in areas such as elders lunch clubs, advisory, counselling, mental health support, advocacy, information and outreach services for our citizens abroad, including on immigration matters and status. This work is vital, particularly for those from marginalised backgrounds and those with complex needs. The 2026 budget for the programme is €17.5 million, which is the highest amount committed to date. I look forward to publishing the strategy in the coming weeks and ensuring Ireland continues its broad and inclusive engagement with our diaspora over the next five years.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I thank the Ministers for their hard work and dedication in the area that is of major importance to Ireland. The diaspora across the globe represents the very best of our country on a community, cultural, business and sporting basis. I acknowledge that the ESP is a very important support for Irish diaspora groups and has proven to be enormously popular. Almost 600 applications were received before the ESP deadline in early February. With that in mind, I ask the Minister of State when successful applications are expected to be announced and funding allocated? In addition, the recent EU trade deal with Australia and the Government action plan on market diversification with no doubt only further expand Irish communities and businesses abroad. Taking this into account, will the Minister confirm whether the Department plans to extend our diplomatic reach to new areas by opening new embassies or consulates in countries or areas in which Ireland has not previously been represented?
My question was grouped with Deputy McCarthy's. The Minister of State has partially answered it. I asked what the status of the diaspora strategy is and if the Minister or the Minister of State would make a statement on the matter, considering both of them are there. I know the Minister of State has specific responsibility for the diaspora. Coming on the heels of St. Patrick's Day, we know how important the footprint that Ireland has and that the people have had through multiple generations. As was said, it is not just about the first generation; it is about several generations and how we continue that work on through these. If we look at the US, I had a national chamber of commerce group in yesterday. We have direct flights into Nashville, not necessarily a place known for its Irish emigrants but, at the same time, a huge proportion of people have Irish or Scots-Irish ancestry. We need to ensure we get them here from a tourism perspective but also from a business perspective, which is really important.
I am proud of what the Minister and the Government is doing in continuing the work in the past of engaging with the diaspora. When we have thought in the past about the diaspora, we have tended to talk about the kings of industry around the world and then the disadvantaged and how we might support them but in recent times, we have large concentrations of highly skilled young people who have emigrated and concentrated in places like Australia and Canada. As part of any diaspora policy, does the Minister of State envisage some systems being put in place or some strategies being adopted whereby we can actively engage with those young people and encourage them to consider a return home where they are badly needed to fill many of the vacant positions that exist?
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.
I am delighted that the Minister of State referenced college football because we have seen the tremendous impact that has had. Not only are we bringing the games but we are bringing people over. A lot of those people spend a lot of time in Ireland. The game offers a window to Ireland in America with huge numbers watching the games. They see the best of what Ireland has to offer from a sporting facility perspective but it also gives us the opportunity to promote ourselves the week before the season starts. The college football has been a tremendous boon to the economy and to how we promote ourselves. The Minister of State has referenced the sports but another way he has really reached out is through the promotion of the Gaelic games abroad and how we tie that in. The GAA really is a foundation stone for so many people who go abroad. The first thing they often do is look for the GAA clubs. However, we can bring the GAA under that umbrella and however that works best, it is important to keep those live connections between the people who might have just recently gone and the multiple generations in America.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He is a rugby man himself but as my colleague Deputy Neville said, the GAA is very important. What is the Department doing to promote the GAA overseas? How much money has been allocated to this in recent years?
Finally, we have a very important statue in Midleton in my constituency of Cork East, which is the Kindred Spirits monument.
This represents a donation by the Choctaw Nation to the people of Ireland during the Great Famine. It is a fantastic monument that showcases the very best of overseas aid and how historical partnership endures. Should the Minister of State have any availability soon, my colleague, Councillor Rory Cocking, and I would love to show him the statue in person.
Regarding the references to sport more generally, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, launched the latest iteration of the sport diplomacy strategy in Boston at the famous Fenway Park. This is a key policy provision not just for the Department of sport, but also for the Department of foreign affairs, because sport brings people together here and abroad. We often see the real economic opportunities associated with the College Football Classic and the NFL coming to Ireland, but we also see where that ties in with tourism and higher education opportunities. There are great opportunities for Irish third level institutions to partner with American institutions for investment and research.
At the heart of our sports diplomacy policy is, of course, the global games development programme, which we support with a direct grant, parallel to the emigrant support programme, of about €7 million per annum to the GAA. That money supports staff, training and governance in GAA clubs around the world. In February, I met the Simba Wolfhounds GAA Club in Uganda, which was set up by a Galway man who works with young children in very deprived areas. I have met GAA clubs in Coventry, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, New York and Pittsburgh, but there are also other sports as well. I would have played for the Toronto Irish rugby club and the Brussels Celtic rugby club. These are all a part of this as well.
GAA is very much at the heart and soul of this. When we look at both participatory and elite level sports, we see Irish people who have had to go abroad, perhaps to play Premier League football, like those currently in Prague, while others are at the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States. Eamonn Coghlan, a former colleague of ours in these Houses, made his name in the United States and was able to represent the Irish abroad multi-generationally at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships.
To conclude, any visit to Midleton is a good visit. I would be more than happy to join Deputy McCarthy and Councillor Cocking. The tie between the people of Ireland and the Choctaw Nation is something we cannot stop reminding people about. It is very important and historic.
