Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister's approach to an issue of importance for thousands of Irish emigrants. I also welcome his support for the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. Ms Sheila Gleeson attended the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday and outlined the range of activities of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres to counter the anti-immigration atmosphere, as she put it, post 9/11 and due to fears about job security and the erosion of working conditions in the US because of the large number of illegal immigrants.

Of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States of America, an estimated 50,000 are undocumented Irish citizens. We would be foolish to believe there would be special legislation to deal with them alone but I fully support the Minister's efforts to convince President Bush and leading politicians on Capitol Hill to give this matter their priority. However, I doubt the success of their efforts in light of the anti-immigration feeling.

That said, we have an obligation to pursue other avenues. In this context, has the Minister discussed the possibility of a bilateral agreement between the United States of America and Ireland? Would it comply with European Union law? If there is a potential to explore the possibility of a bilateral agreement, what are the Minister's views on it?

See this speech in context