Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is right this needs to be a priority and remain a priority for the Irish Government. When the Taoiseach spoke to President Trump this was an issue he raised. As the Deputy mentioned, the appointment of Deputy Deasy is significant. He has already made two substantive visits since his appointment. One of them was at the end of July and one was at the beginning of September. He has met senior political contacts from both sides of the aisle. He has engaged with the Irish community and political representatives in New York and Boston, and he remains in continued contact with the embassy in Washington and officials at the Department of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs and Trade. The ongoing presence of Irish Ministers and officials and their engagement means this very much firmly remains on the agenda.

What the Department is doing at present for the undocumented is also important, and given what has happened in the past year with the election of a new President there was renewed fear among those living there. One of the embassy's immediate priorities is to ensure undocumented citizens and their families have access to clear and accurate information on possible changes that may happen or that they might expect to impact them. To this end, additional funding has been made available to the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers to produce a fact sheet to ensure citizens are accurately informed of the recent changes in US immigration law and how they might be affected. Obviously, they are staying in touch with their local consulate and immigration centre to ensure that where necessary they can consult with an immigration lawyer on their particular circumstances.

See this speech in context