Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

At a meeting in Washington on 24 September, the United States Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, and I signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a new working holiday programme between our two countries. The agreement represents a significant and positive development in our migration arrangements with the United States and will help foster the growth of new and lasting contacts between young people from both countries. It represents an important investment in the long-term health of this vital bilateral relationship.

I am pleased to report that the agreement has been warmly welcomed by community, sporting and business organisations in Ireland and the US, including the GAA, the Ireland-US Council and representatives of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres and the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.

The new agreement contains the following key elements: the United States Government will make available as many as 20,000 visas for Irish citizens each year, which will permit them to work and travel in the US for a period of 12 months; the Irish Government will reciprocate and allow up to 5,000 US citizens to work in Ireland for a period of 12 months; and both US and Irish citizens will be free to secure employment on arrival in each country. It will not be necessary to arrange employment prior to departure. In order to qualify for the programme, participants must hold an Irish or US passport, as the case may be, and should be in post-secondary education or have graduated within the preceding 12 months. The agreement will come into effect on 1 November 2008 and we hope to see the first visas issued shortly thereafter. Further details about the scheme and how to apply are available on the website of my Department at www.dfa.ie.

The new working holiday programme represents an important contribution towards securing greater migration opportunities between this country and the United States, an approach endorsed strongly by the Dáil in an all-party resolution passed on 6 November 2007. At the same time, the Government is also actively pursuing the two other elements of our three pronged approach to this area, namely, a solution for our undocumented citizens and new reciprocal arrangements to provide long-term visas for Irish people wishing to work in the United States and US citizens interested in working here. Finding a solution for our undocumented citizens remains a key priority. In my meetings in Washington last month with US political leaders, I stressed the importance which the Government continues to attach to this issue. I also held a meeting with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, ILIR, in New York, at which I announced the allocation of an additional $50,000 to that organisation, bringing total Government funding for the ILIR to $235,000 since 2006.

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