Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I concur with the comments made by Senator Hayden with regard to the Tánaiste's visit to the United States today. I request that the Tánaiste should attend the House at some stage in order to update us on the progress being made. Most people in Donegal have brothers, sisters or cousins in New York, Washington or Boston who cannot return home as a result of their immigration status. The Tánaiste will today meet those Republican Members of the US Congress who perhaps need convincing in order that the relevant Bill approved by the Senate might complete its passage, thereby ensuring that legal status will be granted to Irish citizens. Many of the latter have been resident in the US for 15 or 20 years and they could not return to this country during the period in which we spent money and built mansions and castles. At that time, their plight was continually ignored.

I must give credit to the Tánaiste for pursuing this matter. He has been relentless in his efforts. I hope he will return with positive news. It must be remembered, however, that this is a difficult matter with which to deal, particularly as there are some 12 million undocumented people living in the United States. Approximately 50,000 of these are Irish and 4,000 to 5,000 of them come from Donegal. At least the Government is trying to progress this matter.

I sometimes resent what the Opposition has to say about businesses closing in rural areas and the difficulties people are experiencing. I have been involved in small businesses and I know those difficulties did not stem from what occurred in the past two years. The truth is that they emanated from 15 years of inflating the economy via an over-reliance on bricks and mortar.