Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. I congratulate Deputy Ring on introducing this timely motion. We all know what has happened in the US since the tragic events of 11 September 2001 and the introduction of the REAL ID Act. The US Government now requires one in all states to produce driving licences which prove that one has US citizenship or the right to stay in the US. The new laws affect many Irish people, including my constituents from County Clare, some of whom are afraid to show off their saffron and blue county colours in case they draw attention to themselves. That is how serious the situation is at the moment. When I pass through Shannon Airport, I often see a picture of John F. Kennedy waving goodbye as he left Ireland in 1963. If the current US immigration laws had been in force when his great-grandfather, Patrick Kennedy, left Ireland, John F. Kennedy would never have been President of the United States — that is the funny thing about it.

Anyone who has been to the US recently will have seen signs calling on the US Administration to legislate in support of the undocumented Irish. When I see such signs, I am reminded that most of those who went from Ireland to the US many generations ago never came back. The same thing could happen again. Deputy Ring spoke about men and women who cannot come back to Ireland for funerals. I have heard of a case of a man who had to listen to his father's funeral on a mobile telephone because he could not return to this country. It is unacceptable that well educated young men and women have to hide in US cities. Irish people are being treated badly even though the Irish heritage of many American people is paraded annually on St. Patrick's Day, when the biggest parades take place in the US. The talk now in Gaelic Park in New York is not about hurling, camogie or football; it is about the crackdown on the illegal Irish. They stay illegally in America because they cannot get a long-term visa or a green card — which is virtually impossible to get. As Deputy Hayes stated, in 2006 only 54 lottery visas and 1,906 green cards out of a total of 50,000 were given to the Irish. People such as Niall O'Dowd must be congratulated for their Trojan work ensuring that the Irish voice is heard in the immigration debate in the United States. The comprehensive immigration reform Act 2007 would have provided legal status to many of the illegal Irish residing in America and the Bill was supported by many high profile Senators but unfortunately it did not go through.

I am delighted the Government has accepted this motion. I urge the Government to include these proposals to extend the US customs and border protection facility for Shannon Airport as it would require the adoption of a US-Irish intergovernmental treaty. I urge the Government to work towards this treaty as soon as possible because it would allow passengers travelling to the United States to be regarded as domestic passengers once they leave the Irish base.

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