Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks.

I understand and sympathise with the plight of people who find themselves undocumented in the United States and are unable to return home for funerals and for other family contacts. It is a very difficult situation. We are optimistic that the legislation will be introduced, and obviously we must work with the promoters of the legislation to ensure the E-3 provision is included. Our embassy in Washington is very much engaged with that.

On the wider issue of immigration reform in the US, there has been talk for some time about comprehensive immigration reform, but it is probably fair to point out that the prospects of such reform are remote. In the meantime, we are examining every other option. I recently had direct discussions on this with our ambassador in Washington. We discussed a range of options that must be considered and should, perhaps, be progressed, or at least explored, to see whether we can make some progress to the benefit of the undocumented and Irish people currently in the US.

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