Irish emigrants

A leading advocate for Irish emigrants to Britain said that the funding requirement recommended by a task force was less than the money approved by ministers Charlie McCreevy and Joe Walsh for the Punchestown equestrian centre.

Fr Paul Byrne, who was the recipient of Labour’s Larkin Thirst for Justice Award, spoke about the chronic circumstances in which many elderly Irish emigrants found themselves in.

He contrasted the estimated €5 billion that emigrants had sent home between the 1950s and 1970s with the Department of Foreign Affairs claims that it was unable to provide funding.