Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has raised quite a number of questions. As I said, I expressed a view that the potential diminution in J1 visas would be a serious blow to connections between Ireland and the United States and to the opportunity for so many young people to work legitimately in the US and avail of a wonderful experience. We have regular reports from the consulates in the US and the ambassador. Ambassador Anderson is a very dedicated official who is in constant contact with different political personnel on Capitol Hill.

I meet the US ambassador, Mr. O'Malley, on regular occasions at different events. This has to be done on the far side and requires the politics of the United States to deal with comprehensive immigration reform. There are 15 million people or more in the United State illegally. Some candidates said they will send them all away, but that cannot happen. Those people's lives would be far more beneficial to the US and its economy in the future if they were legitimised, had legal status and were able to contribute to their lives and the business of the United States.

In Congress, the current consensus on Capitol Hill appears to be that the next opportunity for a push on comprehensive legislative reform on immigration is not likely to arise until 2017, which is after the presidential election. The use of immigration as a negative and emotive issue in the Republican presidential nominee race only adds to that particular message being reinforced, which I regret. In the interim, the Irish embassy in Washington is pursuing a strategy for E3 visas for Ireland with the intention of taking advantages of any opportunity to move forward on immigration legislation that might present itself. I cannot say that it will.

As I said to Deputy Naughten, the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, was in Washington last week and met Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner. It was announced that a Bill had been tabled by him which could provide for the reallocation of thousands of E3 visas for Irish participants. However, it has to be said that it is only the first step in a long, difficult and complex process which will have to be navigated if the Bill to be become law.

I spoke to President Obama about this matter and obviously he has been limited in what he can do and has done what he can do. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, met Vice President Biden on 30 March at the opening of the Edward Kennedy Institute. He emphasised Ireland's continuing concerns regarding immigration reform and, in particular, the importance of the travel issue for the undocumented Irish. We are all aware that people cannot come back for family events or tragedies, an issue which is of serious concern to us. The Minister also had, as I had, meetings with the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, who reiterated on 2 July that this was a matter he had worked on for several years and that while it was difficult to secure progress, he would keep trying. He spoke at the American Chamber of the need to make progress on immigration reform, and I addressed it the following day and spoke on the same issue.

The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, met all the people I mentioned, namely, Paul Ryan, Richard Neal, Jim Sensenbrenner, Joseph Kennedy III and so on. A sizeable number of visas - 15,000 - are allocated to Australia under the E3 system. It is less favourable than a stand-alone provision for Ireland. The issue is being pursued but I am not sure how the connections between Australia and the US would view a situation like that.

At his meeting with the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, Congressman Sensenbrenner said it would be necessary to have a Bill of that sort passed by the Senate before one could be passed in the House of Representatives. He explained that many Republicans, including Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, would be concerned that such a Bill might be added to in the Senate by those wishing to broaden its focus to more than general immigration reform issues and that it was necessary to deal with those fears first if the Bill was to get anywhere. He indicated, however, that he was ready to table the Bill in the House of Representatives immediately, which he did the following day, while making it clear that action to move it forward would have to wait on progress in the Senate. One can see the complications. Congressman Sensenbrenner is a very experienced operator and is well regarded on the immigration issue in Republican circles. The sponsorship of the Bill is positive and a great deal of work now has to be undertaken. His Bill will remain on the books until the end of the legislative session when, if not acted upon, it will fall, which is a possibility.

The E3 visa has been available to Australian citizens since 2005. It allows for 10,500 Australians to travel to and work in the US for a year, up to two years or indefinitely as long as the individuals concerned have met the eligibility criteria and have valid job offers. Spouses and children of visa holders can also travel. On the basis of reciprocity, Australia offers a similar scheme to US citizens.

There is the whole question of visa waivers. On 24 February, on instruction from the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, a letter was issued from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the US ambassador, Mr. O'Malley, on the wider issue of US immigration reform as well as on the question of waivers. This letter inquired whether it would be possible to create a predictable and positive pattern for waiver approval within existing US regulations. The Minister subsequently met the ambassador and discussed the issue with him on several occasions. I raised this myself during my visit to Washington on St. Patrick's Day.

The US embassy has indicated that the waiver system is applied in strict accordance with US laws and regulations and is operated uniformly worldwide, including here. An application for a waiver on the grounds of inadmissibility, as it is known, is an application for legal entry to the US made by an individual who is otherwise inadmissible on one or more grounds. Such a waiver can be applied for in the case of a three or ten-year ban having been imposed for overstaying a visa in the US in the first place. The US embassy has underlined that applications are assessed individually case by case, with final decisions on each being a matter for the US authorities in Washington and that, accordingly, an applicant would not be able to predict with any degree of certainty whether he or she would be successful. While this response is very disappointing, ultimately it is a matter for the US Government and embassy to interpret and implement their immigration laws.

I mentioned to President Obama the situation that applied in Northern Ireland. I did not actually discuss with him the A5, the Narrow Water bridge, the Ulster Canal or a number of other issues, but I did say to him that obviously we would continue to support, where that is possible, these pieces of infrastructure. We have had money in place for the A5 for quite a number of years, but it has not moved to a point where it has been drawn down because of legal problems and court cases. It is important to determine what is actually required and how much is involved. There has been £50 million available for a couple of years but it has not actually moved.

If I recall correctly, we discussed the implications of Stormont. I have always defended the Finucane family, and Geraldine Finucane in particular, in respect of backing a call for a public sworn inquiry in this case. I might just add, for the Deputy's information, that today the Government approved the retrieval of information facility which is part of the Stormont House Agreement. This, in theory at least, would lead to information relevant to an issue, incident or event in Northern Ireland being made available to a person looking for it. It remains to be seen whether it will actually apply in practice. The theory is that irrespective of where the blockage was in the past that an independent person would make the information sought available to the person seeking it, if it directly pertained to the person or his or her family. This will require heads of legislation coming through from Britain and here, and the intention is both Governments will sign this element of the Stormont House Agreement into effect on the same date. It will take some time for the two Parliaments to deal with it and it needs to be compatible, so if there is a request either way it will be made available in respect of Northern Ireland.

We did not discuss the question of the extent of migration, except to say the situation in the greater Middle East was extremely fragile and very sensitive. The literal flood of migrants across the Mediterranean and through Eastern European countries was not evident at that stage to the extent it became evident afterwards. The United States has made comments and taken some action on this. Clearly the current situation in so far as Syria is concerned, with Russia and the United States in there, is causing confusion and has led to a tragedy at a Médecins sans Frontières, MSF, hospital, with conflicting reports of how it came about.

On the question about block grants, we are precluded under the strands of the agreement from involving ourselves in this. We did go to Stormont prior to Christmas and eventually there was agreement on the agreement, including responsibility being accepted by the politicians in regard to welfare reform and the elements of money involved. Prime Minister Cameron responded to this in his own way. Obviously the situation drifted downwards afterwards and I am glad that at least there is now focus again by the political representatives on moving it forward, and I hope it does.

I met former President Clinton in New York when I was there for the United Nations. I had a very good meeting with him. Obviously he is well aware of Senator Hart being appointed as envoy to Northern Ireland. He has a passionate interest in Northern Ireland given his many years experience here. While not wishing to become centrally involved, he has said that in anyway he can assist or offer advice it is available as a general element of the process.

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