Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

When the Taoiseach met President Bush, one of the difficulties was he could not state how many undocumented or out of status Irish were in the US. As the Taoiseach stated, estimates vary. I wish the Kennedy-McCain initiative Bill well. Is the REAL ID programme not a more imminent danger to out of status Irish? Irish people will not be able to obtain a driver's licence, which will prevent them from driving to work. This programme is in place in New York. President Bush estimated the number of illegal Irish in the US at 3,000 while the Taoiseach's ball park figures ranged between 20,000 and 50,000. If the REAL ID programme is implemented, it will create deep distress for out of status Irish.

The reaction of the Minister of State's colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to immigrants entering Ireland who are out of status is not encouraging for those who would like help to be given to the illegal Irish in the US. We would like consistency. The scale of the problem is much lower in Ireland but the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform's comments are appalling given that, at the same time, the Government is appealing to the US for more generosity.

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