Sumbission to Task Force: Policy Regarding Emigrants
Introduction
Comhairle promotes and supports the operation and development of the national network of Citizens Information Centres (CICs) throughout the country. There are currently 86 such centres which dealt with 393,000 queries from members of the public during 2001 on all aspects of rights and entitlements to the broad range of social services. Comhairle also provides an information support service to information providers in respect of more complex citizens' queries.
The main queries relating to emigration to both CICs and the in-house information support service refer to:
- services available to Irish people living in the UK
who wish to return to Ireland;
- social services available in other countries (both EU
and non-EU) for intending emigrants;
- visa and registration requirements of particular countries.
CICs also regularly receive queries from people moving from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland or from Northern Ireland to the Republic. Such queries typically refer to entitlements and rights, services and provisions in both jurisdictions. CICs regularly liaise with Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABx) in Northern Ireland in dealing with such queries.
Returning Emigrants
People wishing to return to Ireland from the UK who present with queries are usually people who have retired on age or disability grounds. Most would be people who emigrated in the fifties and sixties. The main issues arising from these queries are:
- The higher cost of housing in Ireland (particularly
in Dublin) makes it difficult for emigrants to re-locate
back to Ireland.
- There is a lack of sheltered accommodation options
for older people and people with disabilities - people
wishing to return would not normally be on Local
Authority housing lists and, therefore, not eligible for
sheltered or social housing accommodation provided by
voluntary housing associations.
- People experience difficulty in understanding the
complexity of the Irish welfare system, e.g.,
Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Rent Supplement, One
Parent Family Payment, and frequently require
clarification of provisions from CICs and other
information providers.
- Some people who receive the Disability Living
Allowance and its Mobility component in the UK are not
entitled to similar type allowances in Ireland -- this
results in a fall in living standards if they return to
Ireland.
- The rules for the Irish (means-tested) Mobility
Allowance specify that people must be under 66 when they
first apply although they can continue to receive the
allowance after 66. These rules discriminate against the
older returning emigrant who would otherwise qualify for
Mobility Allowance (and was probably receiving its
equivalent in the UK).
- The rules about obtaining medical cards under EU
regulations can be a disincentive to people with
disabilities taking up any kind of employment here - - if
they qualify for even a small pension here or if they
have income from self-employment or part-time employment,
they may lose their EU entitlement to a medical card,
though they become eligible again at 70.
- Age rules on private health insurance also militate
against older people returning to Ireland. It is normally
not possible for people over 66 to take out private
health insurance in Ireland unless they have previously
belonged to another Private Health Insurance scheme.
However, people who do not qualify for Irish medical
cards may have a greater need for such insurance than
they would have under the health system in the
UK.
- Although UK retirement pensions and long-term
incapacity benefits are payable in the Republic of
Ireland, the situation regarding short-term incapacity
benefit is not quite clear. A low-call number for such
pensioners to the UK Benefit Agency in Newcastle would be
useful.
- Where people receive both a British retirement
pension and Irish non-contributory pension, their
entitlement to the latter fluctuates with the exchange
rate, which can cause anxiety and loss of expected
income. In a Dail answer in December 2001 the Minister
for Social Community and Family Affairs reported that
during a review 55 per cent of such pensioners had their
payments reduced.
- Pensioners not receiving an Irish Social Welfare Pension do not receive the living alone allowance available to people who receive Irish pensions. Returning Irish emigrants may, therefore, be at a disadvantage relative to other Irish people.
- Services for children with disabilities appear to be
less well organised and more geographically variable than
in the UK. There is, for example, no equivalent of the
British practice of "statementing" - where a child has a
statement of his/her educational/service needs to present
to a school/ service provider. (There are provisions
regarding ‘assessment of need' in respect of health
services in the new Disabilities Bill and legislation is
promised in respect of assessment of educational needs).
Residential and respite services for children with
disabilities are in short supply here.
- The patchy availability of pre-school child care
sometimes emerges as an issue for returning
emigrants.
Housing Issue
Comhairle is aware of and supports the work of the Safe-Home programme which is working towards getting a more favourable housing environment for older returning emigrants. In particular, we welcome the decision by some local authorities to include intending returning emigrants on their housing waiting lists provided that they were originally from their catchment area. Comhairle urges all local authorities to adopt this approach which would facilitate provision of appropriate housing by voluntary housing associations for such people. In this regard we very much welcome the recent statement of intent by Government to make provision for one in four houses built by voluntary bodies under the Capital Assistance Scheme available to elderly immigrants who have not qualified for local authority housing. In addition, consideration should be given to introducing a policy which would require all local authorities to make available a percentage of their new houses for older people to returning emigrants.
Intending Emigrants
CICs point to the scarcity of services for intending emigrants. While basic information is available for those who have the ability to track it down, more comprehensive and detailed information about, for example, educational provision and taxation systems in other countries is not readily available. People also report great difficulties in getting information once they are abroad because of, for example, language barriers. It would appear that more could be done in Ireland in this regard prior to departure. There is scope for a more proactive role by both statutory agencies and independent information providers.
Irish People in the UK
Evidence from the UK1 points to a section of Irish emigrants who experience multiple problems, including mental health problems, substance abuse, learning disabilities, physical health problems and homelessness. For example, data compiled by the Housing Services Agency in 1999 showed that 11 per cent of people sleeping on the streets of Greater London were Irish. It would appear that some of this population would like the option of returning to Ireland if appropriate support structures were in place. There is scope for more collaboration between appropriate Irish agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, and organisations in the UK working with such people to identify creative responses to needs identified.
Providing Comprehensive Information for Emigrants
CICs are well placed to deal with the information needs of intending and returning emigrants. Youth Information Centres and Emigrant Advice Centres also obviously play an important role. Resources to the independent information/advice sector should be such as to enable them to deal with the information needs of all emigrants comprehensively and efficiently.
As well as supporting CICs, Comhairle is committed to developing Citizens Information Services through a range of channels including telephone and web based information resources. Comhairle is engaged in the ongoing development of electronic information resources such as the Citizens Information Database www.cidb.ie and OASIS www.oasis.gov.ie (a public service information system with a life event focus) to ensure that comprehensive and easily accessible information on services and entitlements is available to the public through CICs and other independent information networks and from statutory agencies. These databases include information on services in the UK and EU states. Web based information and ‘links ‘ to web-sites provide opportunities for organisations involved in emigration support services to share information resources.
Comhairle looks forward to the Task Force Report and, specifically, to any findings relating to the information needs of emigrants.
