Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to ask whoever will be Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade next week to come to the House for a full and frank discussion on our relationship with the USA, with particular reference to immigration. There are probably 50,000 undocumented Irish scattered across the United States of America. We all lobby hard to regularise their position and obtain green cards and, if they want to stay there, citizenship for them. It is an ongoing lobby, in which many Members have been involved, particularly Senator Mark Daly whose efforts over many years I laud. We would all welcome progress. However, there must be a quid pro quo. If a US citizen tries to get a work visa or go a step further and obtain a residence permit or citizenship in Ireland, he or she has as good a chance as a resident of Mars. Let us be real. I have come across a case involving a very well qualified young man who has been going out with an Irish girl for eight years and plans to marry. However, they do not want to marry for the reason of obtaining a citizenship right. It is not the first case I have come across, although they are few and far between. We must be honest. We go to Washington on a regular basis to lobby American politicians to give the Irish a break, yet, whether one is an American citizen or from outer Mongolia, the heart of Africa, Mars or the moon, one has the same chance here. That is the reality. Why do we not get a grip on it, given that the numbers involved are very small? The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade should take a serious look at the issue. There is no quid pro quoand we are not appraising the matter according to the reality. It is an absolute disgrace that we fight hard to have our young people who are scattered across the USA regularised with green cards which allow them to work, live and travel back and forth, whereas we give the two fingers to any American male or female who comes here, notwithstanding that he or she can survive on his or her own income here. It is about time we faced up to the issue and were not disingenuous in going to Washington to say, "Help our young Irish," while failing to give one iota of a chance to the few young Americans who come here. It is a bad signal to send when we are looking for results on the other side.