New guide published for returning emigrants

A guide aimed at assisting the thousands of emigrants who return to live in Ireland each year was published in Dublin today.

The fifth edition of the 'Returning to Ireland Guide' covers a wide range of topics such as social welfare, health, pensions, taxation, education and accommodation.

The guide, which is published by Emigrant Advice, is tailored to suit the needs of targeted groups of people such as the elderly coming home to retire, single people returning to Ireland to find work, and the particular needs of families hoping to start a new life in Ireland.

Thousands of people return to live in Ireland each year. Recent CSO figures indicate that 61,000 Irish emigrants returned to live in Ireland from locations around the world between 2002 and 2004.

Speaking at today's launch, the Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan said it was essential emigrants should have information on topics such as social welfare, health, pensions, taxation, education and accommodation available to them.

Minister Brennan warned that it was important that people realise there are "costs as well as benefits" involved in coming back to Ireland.

"Many Irish emigrants naturally cherish a deep aspiration to return to the land of their birth to work or retire. However, the Ireland of today is often a very different country to the one they left, maybe decades ago," he said.

However, he emphasised the economy's requirement for more workers over the next number of years.

"One has only to look to the estimate that Ireland will need up to 50,000 workers from outside the State each year for years to come to meet emerging employment needs."

The Minister said that Emigrant Advice had identified and made a practical response to that need when they published their first Returning to Ireland Guidein 1997 and he now welcomed the publication of this 5th edition.

"The information is presented in a way that is tailored to the needs of targeted groups of people, for instance, the elderly coming home to retire, single people returning to Ireland to find work, and the particular needs of families hoping to start a new life in Ireland," he said.

Emigrant Advice has been working with migrants in vulnerable situations since 1987. In recent years, its focus has widened to include intending emigrants, immigrants, returnees and intending returnees.

The service is a project of Crosscare, the Dublin Diocese Social Care Agency.