Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I concur with my colleagues who referred to the status of undocumented Irish people in the US. A decade or so ago, we thought this problem had been resolved by means of the tremendous progress made with the Morrison and Donnelly visas and other initiatives taken by the US authorities. However, it now appears from information available to us that a sizeable number of undocumented Irish people are living in the US and it is appropriate that, during the visit of President Bush, the Taoiseach and his Ministers raise the matter with him. I appeal to the US authorities to respond positively to such requests as they have done heretofore.

It is difficult to open an newspaper, listen to a radio programme or watch a television programme without encountering anti-Bush sentiment. This is noted in the US, perhaps wrongly, as anti-American and, in that context, we must acknowledge that this House has appealed to the US authorities to deal with the status of illegal Irish immigrants given that tens of thousands of Irish people still seek employment and a new future in the US. We must try to keep that fact in context when we are dealing with the bigger issues of US foreign policy and Ireland's relationship with the US, which has been our greatest international friend. We can have policy differences but we must consider them in the context of which countries have stood by us over the years.