Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I join the almost unanimous congratulations to the President-elect, Senator Obama. He is the epitome of the American dream and he merits our congratulations and good wishes. We all have a stake in his success, and hope it is a question of "cometh the hour, cometh the man". It also presents us with a challenge and opportunity to pursue vigorously with him and his new administration the fate and well-being of the 50,000 undocumented Irish in America. They live as fugitives and are unable to come home to family funerals, have bank accounts, become resident or take out a mortgage. They live the life of a fugitive in a modern society. That is horrific and sad, and tragic for their families here. The sense of insecurity is enormous. I plead with the Administration and the Leader, who has a personal interest in this issue, to put this matter at the top of the agenda in an immediate Irish diplomatic offensive with President-elect Obama.

That should be paralleled with an offensive to urge the President-elect to undo the implications of his stated economic policy with regard to American investment in Ireland. We should negotiate a special position in that regard and certainly make our position and the links between our two countries known to him. A good diplomatic initiative is required.

In conclusion and on a subject on which I am my party's spokesperson, it is a matter of great concern that, at a time when we are in the process of buying carbon credits at great expense and becoming liable for significant fines under the Kyoto Agreement, we are not doing more to secure access to the grid for renewable energy. There should be wind farms dotted throughout the country with access to the grid. If the ESB is a problem in this regard, it should be confronted head-on. I seek a debate on this issue. Why at a time of economic stringency and crisis are we missing the potential of green, renewable wind energy? This is a crisis but it is also an opportunity for the small farmers in this country to form co-operatives, as they did in previous years, erect a wind turbine on each of their farms and sell energy into the grid. I appeal to the Leader to act on that proposition as well.