Billy Lawless (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am delighted the Government is looking for a dedicated quota for Ireland but unfortunately we lost 17,500 visas in 1965 and we never recovered that. This is one area I would like to pursue also.Lest I forget, three years ago I lobbied for the Bill that was passed in the Senate. It was a full and comprehensive Bill that had bipartisan support and provision for 10,500 visas in perpetuity for Ireland, but unfortunately it never went to the House. The President-elect has threatened that he will rescind President Obama's order for deferred action for childhood arrivals, DACA. More than 740,000 applicants acquired DACA a couple of years ago, a small number of whom were Irish. The President-elect has also threatened to withdraw federal funding for the sanctuary cities, which include Chicago, Boston, New York, Seattle and San Francisco. In those cities, law enforcement officials do not co-operate with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE.

It is a worrying time but the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, is aware of that and I thank him for his response. I will have to keep the pressure on the Government. To be fair to the Minister of State, when he does come, the lobbying is direct, but let us get back to where we were in 1965 by seeking the 17,000 visas that we had.