Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I had a good meeting with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, ILIR, in New York. We discussed the implications of the fact that, if legislation was to be drafted through Capitol Hill, it would come through Senator Schumer of New York. He has close connections with the ILIR and would be the author of any such legislation. As the Deputy is aware, there is now a difference between the political bases of the Congress and the Senate. The legislation would require support from both sides to get through.

Regarding what might happen, the situation in so far as homeland security is concerned following the bin Laden incident is that an increased package of security measures may come forward, in which case immigration could be an associated measure, but this is a long process, as the Deputy knows. President Obama, at our meeting in Farmleigh House, indicated following his El Paso speech on immigration that this is a priority for him and that he would regard the matter as not being solely concerned with one element, that is, a number of nationalities are involved. He is interested in that. We agreed that, through the Irish ambassador and other agencies, we would continue to work with political representatives from both sides in Congress and the Senate.

I made reference to the jobs situation in New York. I did not put any figure on the contribution that the State might make to anyone responsible for bringing about a job here. This is an opportunity, brought forward by a private company, to say that there is now a facility globally to tie in the entire Irish diaspora through the use of modern methods, such as the Internet. If a person is in Australia, Alaska, South America or Siberia and has connections with this country in any shape or form, there is an opportunity to involve the entirety of the global diaspora in the potential creation of jobs here. If someone in Wicklow contacts a relation in Sao Paulo who is working for company X, he or she would ask whether there was an opportunity for some element of what that company manufactures to be manufactured in Ireland. A foreign national in this country could decide to contact someone in his or her own homeland to say there are better opportunities for sourcing the development of that person's industry in Ireland and ask for it to come here. If the IDA is not actively following through on this particular proposal and if it comes to fruition and jobs are created, the idea is that the person who initiated it would get a reward, if the House wants to term it in that sense, for bringing about jobs that last for one or two years and beyond. There is no figure mentioned. The proposal will be piloted by IDA Ireland which has appointed a person to drive it forward in conjunction with the company. It is not in operation yet. It is a brilliant and innovative idea, tying in the Diaspora in one fell swoop in the interests of job creation in Ireland. A project could be set up in Louth, Cork or anywhere else. It is an opportunity to tie everything together in the hope extra jobs will be created here by foreign investors who would not normally consider doing so.

I think the Deputy asked me a third question.

See this speech in context