Ten per cent of Irish emigrants who left Ireland "in bad times" are homeless on the world's streets, in contrast with refugees from abroad who are "being brought in here and housed", a Killarney town councillor and tourism spokesman has claimed.
Mr Michael Courtney has called on the Government to bring back and house impoverished Irish emigrants who left in the 1940s and the 1950s. He said Irish emigrants cannot apply for housing in Ireland.
"All sorts of people are being brought in now and nobody has thought of our own. Ten per cent of Irish emigrants who left in the 1940s and 1950s are sleeping rough on the streets of London and US cities. They are the forgotten people."
Mr Courtney has called for a system to be set up allowing emigrants to be housed in Ireland temporarily. "Anybody in London cannot apply for a house even though they were born and bred here. "There is nobody buying a hotel for them or setting them up in a guest house. How many now have we in temporary housing in Killarney from other countries? All the money is being spent on refugees and immigrants and it's high time we thought of our own," he added.
The majority of Irish emigrants who left did very well, but thousands are "in no-man's land, in limbo", Mr Courtney said.
"There is nothing being done for our own people who are living abroad and who want to die at home."