Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I second Senator Fitzgerald's all-party motion to debate the undocumented Irish in America. I thought I was hearing things at the weekend. The purpose of raising this issue last week was that the goodwill espoused last week by colleagues going to America would be used to highlight the case of the undocumented. As the Taoiseach went through the beautiful imagery of exchanging the bowl of shamrock and pleasantries with President Bush, I heard him saying that people in bars were talking nonsense. He was flying in the face of what has been said by people such as Niall O'Dowd and people in America with whom the Leader is familiar. It sends a bad message to these 40,000 or 50,000 people with relatives and friends in Ireland who cannot come home to attend funerals, weddings, etc. As I stated last week, they cannot attend hospitals if they are dying. It is unreasonable to suggest that people could come home, get a visa and possibly be allowed back. The people in question have set up lives in and contributed significantly to the economy of America, but the Taoiseach stated that it was nonsense talk discussed in bars. I want my message to reach him loud and clear, that is, I abhor his comments, which were cruel.

There is an agreement between some countries such as Australia and——