Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is an old adage that candidates campaign in poetry and govern in prose. In his poetry the President-elect Trump always sought to go low. In his prose we can only hope he occasionally reaches high. That said, all of us as democrats accept and respect the decision made by the American people. They voted for a man who they believe will change things. They voted because they are unhappy with the status quo. One of the changes championed by the President-elect has been the change in immigration policy. When congratulating President-elect Trump yesterday, the Taoiseach said that he also intended to work closely with the new administration and newly elected United States Congress to pursue comprehensive immigration reform. On 1 September, however, Donald Trump said that there will be no amnesty and that he will set up a special deportation task force. He said that one cannot obtain legal status or become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering that country. Mr. Trump's position is diametrically opposed to the stated policy of Ireland. Mr. Trump has said that he would deport illegal immigrants from the United States within 100 days of taking office. That clock is ticking. Perhaps the Tánaiste will indicate what the Government's strategy is to secure immigration reform on the basis of an agreed position by the House. Will the Tánaiste indicate what the Government has done to date, in the anticipation of a possible Trump election victory, to address this crucial issue?

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