Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today is national job shadow day, a very interesting and successful initiative which has been organised by the Irish Association of Supported Employment. Indeed, the Taoiseach has participated in the job shadow initiative in the past. The objective of the day is to highlight some of the inequalities suffered by those with disabilities and the obstacles they face when trying to access employment. With that in mind, I welcome Padraic Dormer, who is job-shadowing me for the day in Leinster House. I hope that on future job shadow days other Members of the Oireachtas will take part in the programme. I would also like to compliment the Oireachtas disability liaison office for the work it is doing in this regard.

I also wish to raise the matter of the undocumented Irish in the United States. The legislation to deal with this matter is at a very advanced stage. I note with regret, however, that a person from north Clare who employs 11 people and who happened to be undocumented in the United States for many years, was arrested two weeks ago and is being held in detention in Boston. It is a shame, at this late stage when we have a dawn in terms of a proposed pathway for the legalisation of undocumented people, that the heavy hand is being used to take people who find themselves in this unfortunate situation into custody.

The gentleman to whom I refer has created 11 jobs in America, has been very enterprising and has worked extremely hard to make a living not just for himself and his family, but also for 11 other families. I ask the Leader to request the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to have discussions with his colleagues in Washington to see if this very regrettable situation can be resolved.