Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Senator will be aware that his party has now stacked the legislation before Christmas to try to get things done and dusted. There is no time for scrutiny. What we saw in this House yesterday with regard to the Legal Services Bill, which was reported by The Irish Times, was a shambles. That was an understatement. The legislative programme and all the promises made by Fine Gael are now in chaos, including the universal health system promised by Fine Gael. The five-point plan has been reduced to a four-point plan, and we will be very lucky if there are three points left in it before 2015 is out.

I ask for a debate on immigration reform in the United States and the 50,000 undocumented Irish people there who, similarly to last year, are unable to return home to family and friends this Christmas. It is estimated that about 500,000 people in Ireland are affected by the situation faced by the undocumented Irish people in the United States. For every person in the United States who is unable to come back there are ten family members affected - brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers whose loved ones cannot come back because their legal status in the United States is in the process of being remedied. The US President, Barack Obama, has issued an executive order. I asked that the Government intervene to ask for a humanitarian visa clause in the executive order so that in situations of bereavement or family illness those who are undocumented can return home to see their families and loved ones. Unfortunately, the Government took no action. I ask for the debate because there are issues regarding visa waivers whereby those who have overstayed their visas can seek a waiver to obtain legal status within the United States, but the Government has not informed them. The sad reality is that this Christmas, again, 50,000 people will not be able to return home. We need more action.

I will conclude by referring to the Government inaction which was crystallised in an event on Capitol Hill at the Speaker's lunch on St. Patrick's day two years ago. A press release given to the Irish press corps stated that the Taoiseach was going to address the issue and his speech was distributed. It contained two paragraphs on the undocumented Irish in the United States, asking the legislators there to do something about it. There were no press allowed at the Speaker's lunch, but the Irish Government was unaware that when the US President attends an event every word is transcribed by a stenographer. In the Taoiseach's address to the legislators on Capitol Hill there was not one mention of the undocumented Irish. I am sure all the Congressmen and Senators walked away from that meeting saying, "I hear a lot about the undocumented Irish in the United States, so why did their Prime Minister not mention it here in front of us?". When one has the opportunity in the United States one should seize it. That is the level of concern our Government has for the undocumented Irish people in the United States. When it has the opportunity, it does not seize it. I ask for a debate on the undocumented and why, once again this year, they are unable to come home.