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Media organisations must better represent the Irish
The BBC and other top media organisations in Britain should be looking at
introducing better ways to adequately represent the Irish community according
to a top Government body.
A report published this week by the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary
Body (BIIPB) states that more support must be given to the Irish community
living in Britain.
Standing at over 2million citizens, the Irish are one of the largest ethnic
minority communities yet the committee found that there is a lack of consistency
in recognition, support and financial assistance from British authorities
at both national and local level.
The chairman of the committee Lord Dubs said that the contribution made
by the Irish to modern Britain should warrant more assistance from the
British authorities nationwide.
He said: “The Irish community has made and continues to make a huge
contribution to modern Britain.
“We hope that the local and national British authorities will act
on our recommendations and encourage the voices of the Irish community
to be heard in British political and cultural life.”
The report points out that Britain’s Irish are now part of an ageing
population, have poor health records and a very high suicide rate that
needs to be addressed with specific funding given.
It also explored the ongoing challenges faced by the Irish travelling
community and homeless in Britain.
The committee called for more to be done to improve the service delivery
to these vulnerable groups.
It also made several other recommendations including keeping first, second
and third-generation Irish closely integrated so that Irish cultural heritage
is not lost in the next 20 years.
It suggested that efforts should be made to evaluate the media in Britain,
in particular the BBC, on how to best represent the Irish community in
Britain.
Other recommendations included ensuring that schemes such as Safe Home
— which helps members of the Irish community in Britain return to
live in Ireland — are better publicised in Britain.
It also added that the Irish category in the ethnic minority section of
the next census in 2011 should be continued.
The BIIPB was formally established in 1990 as a link between Westminster
and Dublin.
Last week TD Michael Ring, Fine Gael spokesperson for Community, Rural
and Gaeltacht Affairs, was appointed to the BIIPB.
The role will see him representing Irish people in Britain who find themselves
falling on hard times or in difficult situations.
He said: “I hope that both the British and Irish Governments will
take up some of the recommendations.
“There is no reason why some package cannot be put together to provide
an Irish channel for Irish citizens living in Britain, that both RTÉ
and the BBC could play their part in this.
“I also had a warning for the Irish Government particularly in
relation to bringing Irish emigrants back to Ireland.
“There is no point in bringing them back until they have these people
prepared so that they know what they are coming back to.
“It is a different Ireland today than it was 30 years ago.
“Services should be in place before they actually come back to Ireland
such as health services, social, community services and housing.
“Now we have to put political pressure on the British authorities
to seek more support for the Irish Community in Britain.
“The Irish Community has made a major contribution and they are
the largest ethnic group in Britain.”
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think that the BBC and other television organisations
represent the Irish community living in modern Britain? Have we got a
presence in Britain’s soap-operas which reflect real Irish people
living here today? |
