“The government must urgently promote an Agency for the Irish abroad”, insists the bishop of Derry, Monsignor Seamus Hegarty, in response to the poor living conditions to which many post-war Irish emigrants to London have been reduced. Awareness of the problem was raised by a television documentary, “Ireland, the forgotten generation”, during the recent Christmas holidays. Bishop Hegarty, who chairs the episcopal Commission for migrants of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, also recalled that “emigration affects each Irish family and that the policies so far implemented require concrete results. The effects of post-war emigration are still visible”. “For years he declared our emigrants have given proof of their attachment to their country by repatriating substantial amounts of money, of the order of 3.5 billion Irish pounds in the Fifties and Sixties, thus effectively contributing to the economy during this period. Nonetheless the commitments made in the 2002 Report on emigration policies have only in part been implemented. The budget provided to fund them has also been reduced”. “The Irish Church added the bishop has always been involved at the side of our down-and-out fellow-citizens in London, providing them with board and lodging. Many of them are characterised by mental health problems, alcohol abuse and an average suicide rate higher than that of other ethnic minorities”. Hence the request of Bishop Hegarty to the Irish government to “establish an Agency for the Irish abroad, with adequate funding to implement the commitments described in the Report”.
