Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He has brought both sides of the aisle together, as Senator Lawless has done and is doing. I say that not by way of fawning praise or to be patronising. I know from talking to people in the United States the work Mr. Cooney has done and is doing, and that is why this Chamber is having this discussion today. We are, as the people's House, their representatives. We may not have a constituency as Senators, but we are representatives of the people in Teach Laighean and the Houses of the Oireachtas. Today we send a message from this Chamber to the Irish diaspora, wherever they are, that we are with them. To those in the United States in particular, I say that we will pursue this because the dream of immigration reform is still an unfulfilled reality.

With regard to St. Patrick's Day and Senator Ó Ríordáin's point on the bowl of shamrock, I point out that it is an image of Ireland. However, what the Taoiseach on our behalf is doing is representing all of us. We are talking about access to the most powerful office in the world. I do not want any political leader, whether a Sinn Féin Taoiseach, a Fianna Fáil Taoiseach, a Labour Party Taoiseach, an Independent Taoiseach or a Fine Gael Taoiseach to be unable to do that. It is access to the most powerful and important office in the world, and we must never lose sight of that.

The politics of immigration has many difficult sides. However, we are all united and we must work to overcome the politics of fear in regard to immigration. Many Senators spoke about the issue of intolerance and different aspects that, in some cases, have come in with blue collar immigrants who have themselves benefited from their ability to emigrate. Thankfully, today in our country there are more people coming home than leaving. That is a welcome economic statistic.

To conclude, we are lucky we now have a bipartisan approach and we need to build on that. It is imperative that we give the Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, and our ambassador the opportunity to work with all sides of the aisle. From the remarks of Mr. Cooney, it is clear there is one outcome we should perhaps yearn for in November, as there is a pathway that could perhaps see results achieved. I look forward to all of us continuing this battle. Ní neart go cur le chéile. I thank Mr. Cooney for his visit and for his excellent remarks today. I wish him every success in his personal endeavours and I thank him for the work he has done on behalf of all our people.