Impact

Diaspora support is at the heart of what we do.

Every year we assist hundreds of Irish citizens and their families, providing pre-departure information, connecting people leaving Ireland to supports abroad, and guiding returning Irish emigrants through their resettlement in Ireland – all with a particular focus on supporting people who are marginalised and in crisis situations.

Advocacy

Our advocacy work is informed by issues affecting members of Ireland’s diaspora whom we support on a daily basis. Through research, we contribute to an expanded understanding of Ireland’s diverse diaspora. This research also informs the provision of our information and advocacy service for Irish emigrants and returning emigrants.

We advocate on behalf of Ireland’s diaspora in two ways:

• Individual Advocacy – Our Irish diaspora support service provides individual advocacy support to Irish citizens denied access to their rights and entitlements upon return to Ireland. This involves engaging with local authorities around refusal of access to homeless and social housing supports, and undertaking appeals with the Social Welfare Appeals Office for disallowances of claims.
• Advocacy Campaigns – Our advocacy campaigns are directly informed by the needs and experiences of returned Irish citizens engaging with our service and aims to promote solutions to common challenges. We identify barriers and campaign for policy change with key stakeholders at both national and local levels. Over the years, we have successfully advocated for change around the application of the Habitual Residence Condition and expansion of immigration preclearance to de facto partners of Irish citizens returning from abroad.

Priority Issues

We campaign for change around key issues, and our policy priorities are directly influenced and informed by our Irish diaspora support service. These issues include:

• The Habitual Residence Condition as a barrier for returned Irish citizens seeking social welfare support
• Emergency accommodation access for Irish citizens who have been repatriated or deported back to Ireland
• Foreign Birth Registration processing delays
• Immigration permission for visa-required spouses and partners of returning emigrants

Partnership

Working in partnership is central to everything that we do. Together with our clients, national and international partners (including our parent body Crosscare), we work to achieve positive change for Ireland’s diaspora.

We are one of approximately 170 groups funded by the Government of Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme to support Irish emigrants in vulnerable situations. As part of this network, we believe in the power of working together for the benefit of Irish citizens around the world.

Working with Global Irish and consular partners, we promote collaboration and best practice by partnering on interagency initiatives, offering peer support and training, cooperating on complex client cases, and ensuring we are connected to new and emerging issues facing Ireland’s diaspora. In Ireland, we work closely with Irish civil society groups and state agencies to achieve successful outcomes for our clients.

We engage with a broad range of Irish diaspora groups to empower Irish citizens to make informed decisions about their migration, partnering to provide join information sessions to both intending and returning Irish emigrants.