A 24-hour vigil is being held in Dublin this evening in support of the thousands of Irish people forced to emigrate to Britain to earn a living.
Members of the Labour Party's youth wing will gather at 6 p.m. outside the GPO on O'Connell Street to raise public awareness of the plight of those emigrants who have fallen on hard times.
Labour Youth chair, Mr Donal O'Liathain
Labour Youth is protesting at the Government's failure to provide funding in line with the amount recommended by its own taskforce on the Irish emigrant community.
Speaking ahead of the vigil Labour Youth chair, Mr Donal O'Liathain, said: "The Irish diaspora kept Ireland alive for many years by sending home the pennies and pounds it had scraped together."
"Many of these economic exiles are now in their twilight years and after a lifetime of hard work the Irish state owes them a debt of gratitude.
"The Government has not done enough to help those who kept Ireland's economy afloat for so many years. These people are our friends and family who left not in search of a better life, but so that they could feed and provide for their loved ones in Ireland. This was not a journey of choice but of necessity."