Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the most recent discussions he has had with the US Administration and Members of the US Congress in order to progress the Immigration Reform Bill in view of the difficult position facing many undocumented Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1479/14]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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22. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of times since coming to office he has met with US officials to discuss immigration reform and in particular the plight of the undocumented Irish citizens in America, his plans to meet with US officials on this issue over the next six months, and his view on when reform on this issue will happen. [1474/14]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The difficulties facing the undocumented Irish have been aired often in this House through questions and at committee level. Will the Tánaiste ensure that every effort is made at political and official levels to keep pressure on the Members of Congress in the United States to ensure that 2014 will be the year of immigration reform?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 22 together.

This is an issue to which I accord very high priority. I am conscious of the difficulties experienced by Irish citizens who are undocumented in the United States and I have met and spoken with many of them on my working visits there and also with the various groups who lobby on their behalf. I have maintained contact, directly and through our Embassy in Washington, with many key players in Congress who are influential in steering the process of US immigration reform. Over the last four months, the Embassy and I have had direct contact with some 70 Members of the House of Representatives and their staff, including Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, Chair of the House Budgetary Committee and former Vice-Presidential nominee; Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and several other leading Republican members of that Committee, including Immigration Sub-Committee Chairman, Trey Gowdy; Minority House Leader, Nancy Pelosi; Chair of the Congressional Friends of Ireland, Pete King; with House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and their staffs. I have also maintained contact with key figures in the US Administration and with Irish-American community representatives. I have reiterated throughout all of these contacts the Government’s interest in all aspects of immigration reform and, in particular, our interest in seeing an overall agreement reached which provides relief for currently undocumented Irish migrants and a facility for future flows of legal migration between Ireland and the US.

In this context, we very much welcomed the US Senate’s approval of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Bill by a 68-32 margin on 27 June last year. The comprehensive draft legislation, which was prepared over several months by a bipartisan group of eight US Senators, provides for extensive reform of the US immigration system. It includes provisions that would legalise the status of undocumented Irish people and provide a path to permanent residency. It also provides for future flows of legal migration between Ireland and the US via the proposed E-3 visa.

The focus has since shifted to the House of Representatives for its consideration of the issues and a key factor here remains convincing the Republican House majority of the importance of making progress. It remains to be seen whether a consolidated Bill can be agreed between the Senate and the House of Representatives. It is generally accepted that securing overall agreement will be a complex and challenging process, also in light of other issues on the Congressional agenda which may be unrelated but can impact negatively on efforts to secure the necessary bipartisan agreement.

The next window of opportunity for any movement on immigration reform is expected to arise during the first months of this year but the exact shape and form of such movement remains to be seen. The most recent development has been the announcement last week by Speaker Boehner that he is preparing to release a set of “principles” and “standards” to guide the House Republican side’s consideration of immigration reform. These are expected to become available in the coming weeks.

I am determined to continue to deploy all necessary resources at political, diplomatic and Irish community level to make progress on this vital issue. In support of this ongoing effort, a delegation of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade visited Washington DC in October last for a programme arranged by our Embassy during which they met with key members of Congress and with Irish-American community representatives. More recently, I wrote to US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on 12 December last, reiterating our position and underlining our continuing strong interest in the prospect of reform of the US immigration system. I expressed the hope that the House will engage further on these issues in early 2014 leading to a positive legislative outcome.

The Government will continue to raise this issue with high-level political contacts in the period ahead, particularly during the St. Patrick’s Day period in Washington DC. In addition, the Embassy in Washington continues our intensive follow-up work with all of our contacts on Capitol Hill and particularly with the Republican House leadership. It also continues to coordinate our lobbying efforts with our Irish-American community representatives. I acknowledge the critically important role being played by these community organisations, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform and the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. We have been kept updated on the efforts being made at embassy level and on the constant lobbying of Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. We have discussed in this House the very difficult position facing many families and individuals, people whose position is not regularised in the United States and who have been unable to come home for family events, whether celebrations or bereavements. As public representatives, we all have encountered instances of families in which perhaps the mother or father is ageing. These people are concerned that they may not have a family member visit them. There is a concern among many people because family members have been unable to return.

As the Tánaiste said, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Boehner, stated in December that reform of the immigration laws will be a priority in 2014 for the House of Representatives. He also stated that immigration is next on the agenda once the Senate passes a bipartisan budget deal for the next two years. I urge the Tánaiste to continue his work in this area. I realise he has been constantly working at it but we need to send a message to our constituents and the people at large that this issue is being given due consideration at home and in the United States. We wish to recognise the important role of all the people, including Members of Congress, who have been friends of Ireland over the years in this area.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am mindful of the human dimension of this problem. I have met people who have been in the United States for a number of years and who are undocumented. They cannot come home for family funerals or other family events. I have seen members of families having to travel out to see newly born grandchildren because they cannot bring them home. It is estimated there are approximately 50,000 Irish citizens in that situation in the United States.

The Bill passed by the Senate would resolve the problem. It would provide a means by which the undocumented would be regularised and legalised and it would also provide a means for a flow. The problem is that it has not been possible to progress it in the House of Representatives. As I remarked in my reply, there are many political issues at work in the House. We saw what happened last year in respect of the budget issues. We have seen issues arise with health care and so on as well. There is a political divide there. The Speaker, Mr. Boehner, has indicated his desire to move forward. He has referred to publishing a set of principles.

We will continue to remain in close contact with him and to work with him. We have been concentrating our efforts on the Republican side of the House. As I indicated, we have spoken to in the order of 70 Members of the House at this stage. I have spoken to some them directly, including at meetings that I have had in Washington. I have also spoken to several of them by telephone. This is a top priority for our ambassador and staff at the embassy in Washington. Obviously, we will use the opportunities that will arise in the lead-in to St. Patrick's Day to intensify that work. It is a major priority for us.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Tánaiste believe conditions have improved since his last visit? There was considerable optimism when we were there working on the matter. The Tánaiste mentioned St. Patrick's Day. Does he see that as a key period for the lobbying work by the Government and Members of this House, as well as Irish America?

Another area highlighted during the visit was those who are Republican donors and those from the business community. Does the Tánaiste envisage those people having a significant role in the run-up period to try to bring about the positive change we want?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I wish to acknowledge the good work done by the members of the Oireachtas joint committee who visited Washington last year. It is most helpful to have parliamentarians from Ireland talking with their counterparts in the United States about this issue.

In respect of the Irish interest in immigration reform, our representations are generally very well received and there is no difficulty in making our case. There is a difficulty, however, in that the situation of Irish immigrants is part of a much larger immigration issue in the United States. As I said, approximately 50,000 Irish citizens are caught in this situation, alongside some 11 million immigrants from other countries, including Mexico and Latin America. Deputy Crowe is correct that employer organisations and interests in the United States have signalled their desire for progress on immigration reform. Many of the people concerned are working in the economy and employers are keen to have their employees' situation regularised.

I hope 2014 will be the year in which we see significant progress on this issue. Part of the problem is that it gets tied into the political cycle. Immigration in the United States, as in this and many other countries, is a tricky and sensitive political issue. Depending on the constituency, it can play out in various different ways. The issue remains a major priority for us and we will continue our efforts to address it.