Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for taking time out of his busy schedule to come to the House to address this important issue.

The Tánaiste will be aware from activity in the consular section of his Department and from international media reports that there seems to be an increased level of activity by the immigration authorities, particularly in the Boston area, targeting the undocumented Irish. This appears to be orchestrated, a worrying development. There are a number of cases, including one of a man originally from my constituency who is entirely law abiding, albeit undocumented. This brings its own difficulties in procuring driving licences and other documentation needed to go about daily life. This gentleman was arrested at 6.30 a.m. when he got up to go out to work. He employs 11 people and is married with two children. He is law abiding in every other way. He has made a life for himself and his family in the Boston area.

It is disappointing that there has been this renewed level of activity in cities like Boston at a time when considerable progress appears to be emerging on Capitol Hill under proposals put forward by President Obama. The Tánaiste has been to the forefront of the campaign since before he assumed his current ministerial role and I have no doubt he has raised the matter in Washington.

Could the Tánaiste make contact with the Office of the President of the United States and others on Capitol Hill to see if something can be done to find a level of amnesty for these people prior to the passage of the legislation so they are not being rounded up in advance of the solution they have been waiting for? This gentleman is now in a federal prison and it is not clear when he will get out. There was a time when undocumented immigrants were put on the first flight home and at least people knew where they stood. In this instance, my contacts tell me this person could be in prison for two months or more. That is huge uncertainty for him, his wife and his family. They are at their wits' end and do not know what to do.

We must have a two-pronged approach to this. We must deal with the immediate issue for this individual and then see if we can get some assistance from the federal administration to calm down what seems to be overzealous activity in light of the fact that, at long last, a solution is in sight.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The plight of the undocumented remains a top priority for the Government and in this regard, the publication yesterday of a bipartisan Bill in the US Senate is a very positive development which, if adopted, would help to end the great hardship and uncertainty faced by undocumented Irish in the US and their families here in Ireland. The legislation was drafted over several months by a bipartisan group of eight Senators and includes provisions that would help to resolve the plight of thousands of undocumented Irish people living illegally in the United States. It is also provides for future flows of legal migration between Ireland and the United States.

I am conscious that the overall issues involved are complex and sensitive ones within the US political system and that much further debate is likely to be required before the final shape of any overall legislation becomes clear. The Taoiseach and I have had numerous discussions with proponents of this Bill over many recent months and in particular during the St. Patrick's Day period. I want to acknowledge the supportive role played by Irish organisations in the US in bringing the matter this far. I do not doubt that there is much work and many uncertainties ahead as we strive to bring this work to a conclusion but the determination of this Government to support the inclusion of a new provision to allow several thousand Irish citizens to legally avail of employment opportunities in the US every year, and to address the issues facing the undocumented, should not be in doubt.

I am aware that from time to time concerns are expressed concerning the detention of Irish citizens in the United States prior to deportation. While the official figures available to us indicate that the numbers of undocumented Irish being detained and deported have not increased significantly in recent years, and we have not received any recent indications to suggest that detention conditions for Irish people in such situations have been problematic of late, I am aware that the anxiety and stress which detention and deportation cause is very real. This is why it remains the Government position to strongly discourage anyone considering moving to the US without legal status.

I am aware of a report in the Irish ethnic media in the US suggesting that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has engaged in a sweep of undocumented Irish in Boston. The ICE, however, has confirmed that it does not engage in indiscriminate raids against potential undocumented communities. Our missions in the United States have not recorded any recent significant increase in numbers. The Deputy has outlined a particular case and if he gives me the details of that case, I will have the Department and relevant consulate investigate further. In March 2013. there were nine Irish people in detention for immigration violations, while in February 2013 there were seven. Our missions in the United States provide consular assistance to Irish nationals who have been detained and are awaiting deportation. We seek to minimise the detention period, and have also assisted in expediting the deportation process where there have been particular medical or other humanitarian issues.

I want to underline the Government's commitment to sustaining support for our emigrants overseas and for the many young Irish people who have left in recent years. There is no more tangible expression of this support than the emigrant support programme, which has sustained support for frontline organisations working to address the needs of emigrants, notwithstanding the current budgetary pressures.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for the way he has outlined his position on the progress that has been made and I will provide the Tánaiste with the details of the case I raised. The consular staff in Boston are involved in this case and familiar with it.

It does not take from the fact that here is a family - I understand there are a number of others - who would have expected to benefit from this legislation and who find themselves in a precarious position. The husband is detained in prison, there is no clear sign of when he will be released, whether he will be returned to Ireland or how quickly that might take place.

It will need guidance from those who are supporting and driving this legislation on Capitol Hill that they would start to filter information down to ICE and others that this is on the way. I accept that until such time as the legislation has passed, it will not be possible to find a workaround for it, but I ask if interim arrangements could be considered for those who are under investigation for being undocumented or who find themselves in a state or federal prison. Assistance could be provided to them so that they would be allowed to remain and that they would be released on licence.

It is not for me to comment on how other countries seek to deal with immigration. We have our own issues here and have been slow and perhaps tardy as a country in dealing with them, but it is unnecessary to have this individual in jail. His wife and family are in the country, so he is not going anywhere. I would hope that there could be some softening and a recognition that at long last we hope the end is in sight in a way that would see this undocumented issue sorted out once and for all, and in so doing, that the small number who are on the fringes at present do not find themselves outside the loop.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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First, I need to know the details of the particular case and again I invite Deputy Dooley to let me have them. My Department and the consulate concerned will address it and no doubt will provide assistance to the individual concerned.

This is a problem that has gone on for a very long time. The undocumented Irish in the United States live in a kind of a shadowed existence. As Deputy Dooley stated, they cannot get a driving licence or come back home for a funeral. They are caught in a difficult situation.

As the Deputy will be aware, we have been working for some time to try to get that resolved. We now have a big break on that in the form of the legislation that was published yesterday. We have been working with this group of eight Senators, four Democrats and four Republicans - it is most important that this is a bipartisan approach - who have brought forward legislation on immigration. They have included in that legislation measures that will address the problem of the undocumented Irish in the United States but also allow for a flow of legal migration at this level between Ireland and the United States for the first time since the 1960s. This is a significant development. We need to be mindful that the issue of immigration in the Unites States is a controversial one. It has its own political dimension, as immigration has in this country. We must work with the Senators concerned, the House of Representatives and President Obama's Administration to get this legislation through, and we will do that.

In the meantime, as regards the situation as it affects individuals, I can identify entirely with a person who, just as the legislation is published, finds himself arrested, detained and in a difficult situation. As I stated, if Deputy Dooley lets us have the details, we will deal with the particular case, but I do not want to get into calls for amnesties, which could be unhelpful in the context of getting the legislation advanced.