Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. It is a difficult area, with so many competing elements in Washington. I would like to impress on him that at some stage in the negotiations at committee level in the US Senate, we will be given an E-3 visa at the Australian entry level, which is degree level. We should with all our diplomatic might to say "No" to that. We can give way on the waivers because we understand that the Republican Party cannot support that, but we require the leaving certificate as the educational requirement. I fear that in the horse trading that will take place, we could end up with a very high education threshold, which is not good for many tradesman who want to work legally in the US. It will also stop us down the line using our good contacts with the Clintons in the State Department to look for administrative waivers. Most of the undocumented in the US do not have the education requirements of the Australian E-3 visa. If that requirement is the threshold for the US E-3 visa, it will be of very little use to anybody going for an administrative waiver.