Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know we do not have much time and I have four questions. However, I want to assure Teachta Martin that Irish America knows Sinn Féin's policies. It is clear that we receive our support there, despite some of them disagreeing with our policies.

We receive support because we have a united Ireland strategy and a peace strategy, both of which we are working, and because most of the Irish in America are there as a result of the punitive austerity policies pursued by the previous Fianna Fáil-led Administration and the current Government.

We all know the many links between Ireland and the US. Those links were very clear during the recent negotiations which took place at Stormont House. I commend President Obama's envoy, former Senator Gary Hart, who was regularly in contact and who offered his support and advice. I thank him for that. I was also in contact with Meghan O'Sullivan and Richard Haass, who provided the template for what was eventually agreed at Stormont. I met Ambassador O'Malley during the negotiation period and I thank him for his support. I especially wish to commend the US Consul General, Greg Burton, who is soon to leave his position but who was omnipresent during the talks. There is still a great deal of work to be done. Teachta Martin made no mention of the threat made once again against the life of the Deputy First Minister by so-called dissident elements. That threat shows that we cannot take the peace process for granted. We continue to work to make it a reality for more and more people.

The questions tabled in my name relate to those who are in America illegally, particularly in the context of the initiative taken by the US President, which was broadly welcomed by most Irish American groups. The Taoiseach is aware of Ciaran Staunton and his work on behalf of the undocumented. I take this opportunity to commend our ambassador to America, Anne Anderson, and her consular staff on their work in this area. After President Obama made his announcement, the Taoiseach wrote to him stating that there would be some capacity for the undocumented Irish to travel home and that the full details of this would be worked out. Will he indicate if those details have been worked out? What resources are being provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our diplomatic service to assist those who might potentially benefit from President Obama's executive order. The Taoiseach alluded to the fear that an executive order made by one US President might be reversed by another. I must note at this point that there are others who fall outside the scope of this new arrangement. Will the Taoiseach be raising this issue - if God spares him - when he returns to the United States in March? Will he raise it with Republican leaders as well as with President Obama? I witnessed his very forthright push for citizenship for Irish people there and for legal rights for them. Will he continue to press the White House for a more comprehensive and bipartisan legislative Bill which would give the undocumented a path towards citizenship?

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