James Bannon (Fine Gael)

While 77% of those polled believe that Irish people living illegally in the United States should be allowed to remain there, only 66% believed that non-nationals awaiting decisions on residency applications should be allowed to remain in Ireland. The unhappy picture presented by this poll is that while we as a nation were quick to accept the largesse of other countries and still hope to do so, we are now too grasping and self-serving to extend this hospitality to others. The concept of the Ireland of 100,000 welcomes is definitely one of our best known myths and legends. I await the Minister's response.