Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to have the chance to speak on this important motion and I thank my colleague, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, for sharing her time. This is a serious issue which affects nearly all our families as well as our electorates. I welcome the cross-party support for this motion and compliment the Government in this regard. This is the second time in this Dáil that we have had agreement on a motion in Private Members' time. It is nice to see and I hope it continues over the next couple of years rather than going back to the old way of opposing each other for the sake of it because it does not get us anywhere.

This is a very important issue and I thank the Government for all it has done over the past couple of years in this regard. I know it has been working very hard. Last night, the Minister of State alluded to the amount of money being spent and the work being done. The amount spent back in 1997 was also referred to but that was a different century and a different time. I ask Ministers to stop referring to 1997 as a benchmark against which to monitor increases in expenditure because it is a waste of time and is going back to a different era.

I compliment Niall O'Dowd, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd's brother, on the work he is doing in America with his group, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. It is doing a great job, engaging in a very constructive debate and keeping the issue to the fore.

Immigration has become an important and emotive issue in Ireland, so I can imagine what it is like in America, especially after 11 September 2001. Deputy Kathleen Lynch touched on the issue of immigration. We have very serious immigration problems which we are not handling well. The Government is not taking enough of a lead in trying to educate the people about immigrants and foreign nationals coming into the country so they can work with them, etc. Many staff in Departments and in the various arms of Government are finding it difficult to work with non-nationals and those coming here from other countries. We have a lot to do ourselves to integrate foreign nationals coming to Ireland, whether from America, Europe, Africa or elsewhere.

Thankfully, the Irish integrate very well in America, partly because they are allowed to do so. Many people who left these shores now own businesses in the US and are employing people there. Their jobs are contributing much to all parts of the US, socially and economically. We need to learn from the manner in which Irish people have been accepted in the US. We should accept those who have come to Ireland in a much better way. Government initiatives and education are needed if immigrants are to integrate and be accepted.

This issue is a difficult one. We all get calls from our neighbours, friends and clients who live abroad. They ring us on a regular basis to find out if there is any news, or any hope of change in this regard. It is getting hard to keep giving those people hope. We were nearly there on a few occasions over recent years, only to fail at the end. I ask that an extra push be made to try to get us across the line. Is there something we can do at this end to lead the way? Can we relax the rules slightly to assist Americans who are coming in here, especially those who are partners of Irish people? Maybe we can do a little to lead the way on our side. The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Kitt, seemed quite positive during his speech last night. He seemed to suggest that good news will emerge. When he responded to parliamentary questions on this issue in October, however, he stated clearly that he did not have much hope for any change in this regard in advance of next year's elections in the US. That concern was not mentioned last night. We need to give people proper information and really push this hard. Perhaps we can do something at our end to lead the way on this matter.

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