Each year thousands of people emigrate to Australia in search of a different way of life with greater opportunities and a better quality of life.
For the past two centuries Irish people have been heading to the country in search of employment and at a conference in Sydney this week minister for arts, heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan thanked Australia for helping so many young Irish people find work.
Speakiong at a commemoration of Ireland's Famine he said that a "very accessible visa system" had helped around 400,000 Irish people move to Australia in 2011 and 2012, with 5,000 settling permanently.
Mr Deenihan said that this was a huge boost for Australia, however looked forward to emigrants returning as the economy improved.
He went on to discuss the thousands of girls and women who travelled to Australia during the Famine between 1848 and 1850.
"These girls, so far from home, survived against the odds and assimilated into Australian society. They went on to be pioneering women in the new Australia," Mr Deenihan said.
Posted by Steve Douglas
