Comment: Australia misses out as Ireland focuses on ‘closer’ Diaspora

This coming weekend, the Irish government will host the first Global Irish Economic Forum.

A new initiative, it laudably sets out to harness the power and creativity of the diaspora.

“I believe that the Global Irish Economic Forum has the potential to be … a platform for the development of a long term strategy which will channel the enormous potential of this global community,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Martin said last week about the conference.

So, this is Ireland reaching out across the globe to its emigrants, right?

Well no, not exactly.

This is Ireland reaching out to the US and UK with token representation from other regions. Over 80 per cent of delegates will be drawn from these countries and, of course, Ireland itself. At least 20 delegates will not have the inconvenience of getting on an aircraft to get to Dublin as they are already in the country.

This in itself would not look so ridiculous if there were not just four representatives from Australia. The ‘most Irish country in the world outside of Ireland’ will occupy about two per cent of the seats at this Global Irish Conference.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Australian quartet attending the conference are fine ambassadors for this country and will make a valuable contribution, it is difficult for Irish Australia to see this as anything other than a snub by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

Forget the fact that Australia has, for the past 10 years, been the number one destination for young Irish people and that the Irish are the highest earning Europeans in Australia.

Forget the fact that cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Perth represent the future of the diaspora as much as cities like Boston and Liverpool represent its past.

Forget all those things.

Consider Australia’s strategic economic position as a springboard into the key Asian markets and the fact that it is the only western economy to avoid recession during the current financial crisis. Ireland has plenty of friends in America. It needs friends in Asia.

All of these considerations point to the fact that Australia is drastically under-represented at this event.

More broadly, it clearly demonstrates that Irish Australia is very much the poor relation in the eyes of the decision makers in Dublin.

Consider emigrant funding.

In 2008, Irish community groups in Australia received just over one per cent of Ireland’s total emigrant funding. Groups in Britain and the United States received over 90 per cent. Even groups based within Ireland itself were given over €1m from the emigrant funding budget while Australia received a sixth of that.

Among those who benefited from emigrant funding last year were the GAA (€400,000) and the Football Association of Ireland (€50,000).

While funding is confined almost exclusively to welfare in Australia, the Irish government funds a broader range of activities in other parts of the diaspora including support for Irish clubs and festivals, St Patrick’s Day parades, GAA competitions and political lobby groups.

In the current circumstances, such funding is under review in any case but in our view, Australia has been short-changed by the Irish government in favour of other (nearer) parts of the diaspora.

Irish community groups should remind Irish politicians of the apparent inequity when they next come to visit.

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