Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Gormley's conclusion is correct. We have examined this issue in great detail. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, had a positive discussion on immigration reform with President Bush on Saint Patrick's Day and prior to that in Dromoland Castle. Following this, the Minister asked his officials to again consider ways of getting a more precise sense of the size of our undocumented population, including the possibility of setting up an on-line database for this purpose. However, the widespread view after much consultation was that our undocumented people would be unlikely to register on a database for the reasons the Deputy suggested. This is understandable and, under these circumstances, it has been decided not to go ahead with the approach.

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