Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I wish to share time with Deputy Ferris.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute again on this subject. When we last discussed it in October 2005, I believed there was cross party support for a motion that could be presented as the view of the Oireachtas at the time when there seemed to be the prospect of the McCain-Kennedy Bill having success. I was also pleased to travel as part of a delegation of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs to lobby Senators in support of the emerging legislation, complex though it was. I am pleased to support a motion on an all-party basis on behalf of the Labour Party. I am not party to the text of the Fine Gael motion or the Government adaptation of it but I am happy to contribute to something that can be issued as a statement on behalf of all Members. I hope my sharing of time will enable another party to indicate its support.

It is very important that we bear in mind continually the pain of those families who are divided. When I spoke in October 2005, I referred to the experience of emigration. Between 1955 and 1960, 250,000 people left Ireland, mostly bound for England, and, in one year, 58,000 emigrated. The major difference in US emigration, which began in the 1980s in its present volumes, was it was circulatory migration. Those who leave Ireland today have the prospect, because of many different circumstances, of returning to their families. The most painful aspect for families is that those who emigrate are cut off by the illegality of their presence in the US. The Government and its representatives must follow all the available paths. The motion suggests that a bilateral strategy be used in the short term. I support advantage being taken of the forthcoming Belfast meeting, as it would be silly not to do so. When the Kennedy-McCain proposals failed due to complex factors, magnificent rallies were held. I too pay tribute to Niall O'Dowd, Ciaran Staunton and others who organised campaigns that went on past that point.

It is important that we retain our emphasis on a comprehensive solution because dealing with new entrants into the US would not be sufficient. Some people have been out of status since the 1980s with all the perils that brings. I will not repeat all that has been said but it includes health risks, risks of not being protected under labour law and people cannot join their families for funerals and so on. It also does not include protection against one's own. Some of the cases have involved Irish people exploiting out of status Irish people.

As we approach the Belfast meeting, it will be possible to make gains on a reciprocal basis. It is important that the House accepts that we do not have to make an either-or choice. By deciding to make the best use of a reciprocal atmosphere in preparation for the Belfast meeting, one does not have to say it is being done at the cost of another strategy. The strategy should be flexible and multidimensional and that includes bearing in mind the complexity of the relationship between, for example, the proposals from Senator Schumer's office and those of Senator Kennedy. It is possible to take advantage of Senator Schumer's proposals and, at the same time, maintain the best possible relationship with Senator Kennedy, one of the most long-standing friends of Ireland. That would not be an either-or solution.

In approaching the issue of the 11 million undocumented immigrants, I do not agree with those who suggest a special case should be pursued. Advantage should be taken of the reciprocal opportunities available but it is important to bear in mind the 11 million out of status immigrants in the US have contributed to the economy and paid taxes and their labour has been used. It is a matter of right that they would be recognised. I refer to the atmosphere during the transition of the legislation from the US Senate to the House of Representatives. The view of several members of the House of Representatives was that they would take the labour of the 11 million without according rights to them. I do not support any departure from condemnation of that view. It is wrong to have any person whose labour has been used or abused in any way.

When this issue is resolved, I look forward in the short term to all-party agreement on a resolution in the House that would recognise the rights of workers, wherever they are, including those who have come here and whom we have kept for three or four years in hostel accommodation in receipt of €19 a week from the State while refusing them the right to work, and those, for example, who are sheltering in the shadows of the economy and who have said they want to participate fully in our society. I am not impressed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who said implementing arrangements similar to those in Holland or Spain would send the right message. We have a difficulty whereby if we behave totally inconsistently and send the wrong message from the Oireachtas regarding the rights of workers, it will damage our moral position abroad.

I will not dwell on this because I want a consensus in favour of those who are out of status in the US but I would be entirely inconsistent if I did not say it. Of the 11 million out of status people in the America, approximately 25,000 are Irish when one takes the figure presented by immigration drop in centres and adjusting it downwards. When I last contributed on this issue in October 2005, the prospect of dealing with it through a lottery system was ridiculous. Ireland would have had 290 successes out of 9.5 million applicants. Something needs to be done. Opportunities exist in limited circumstances for Ireland to take advantage of what is on offer through a negotiation on Senator Schumer's proposals. It is very important that we continue our efforts. We need assurance in reply to this debate. What is being asked for is an approach that is flexible and will include and be able to take advantage of every initiative, regardless of where it originates. It is worth recalling something else as regards those great marches that took place after events in October and November 2005. What is important is the pressure on the House of Representatives. We have to think of a way of dislodging the narrow opinion that suggests people from outside the boundary of the United States can arrive, work, contribute, pay taxes, form businesses and so forth but be required to live in the shadows without rights. It is important we recognise there is pressure to be put on the House of Representatives, that there are decent people in the United State who are neither Irish nor Irish-American but who support the point I am making. That means there must be a multifaceted effort that is able to handle different opportunities within the Senate, but also one that can turn into a practical campaigning issue which will put pressure on the House of Representatives and be effective not alone on behalf of our own Irish, but also others.

I hope we will be successful but we should not wait for that moment before beginning to operate with some consistency here at home and remove the blotch in all our names as regards the way we treat people who have come to this country and who are capable of working and making a contribution.

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