Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to state what the E3 visa is and would do. Essentially, Ireland is seeking to avail of unused visas that would have been allocated to Australian citizens. The US and Australia have a unique arrangement whereby a certain number of visas are provided each year.

We are proposing that the unused visas in the allocation for a year be used by Irish people in the following year. We have given an absolute assurance to the Australian Government and its embassy in Washington that we are not looking to take Australian visas. We are simply looking to use unused visas in the following year. That is essentially the approach taken in the E3 Bill which potentially would provide for the allocation of 2,000 to 3,000 visas each year to allow Irish people to travel and work in the United States. The E3 Bill approach is very limited in what it can do for the undocumented Irish in the United Stated who are very concerned. We are trying to find a pathway for them, but that will take a little longer.

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