James Bannon (Fine Gael)

Senator Leyden should not interrupt me on this issue when the Government has not looked after the elderly in the midlands over the past eight or ten years, as he pointed out on the Order of Business.

American society is one where even putting a child's name down for a week's summer camp at a local centre involves more form filling than we can imagine. To be undocumented in a culture such as this is akin to being an anxiety-ridden modern man in an unintelligible, hostile and indifferent world. This is not what we want for our largely forgotten Irish emigrants. I hope the Minister of State will take on board and support the motion before this House. Members have made a valuable contribution on this issue and it is important that their views and proposals reach Capitol Hill. We must broaden the debate and ensure that other US Senators, besides Senators Kennedy and McCain, take note of the issue and ensure the Bill passes through Congress and the US Senate.