Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the US Government has or will give preferential treatment to undocumented Australian citizens currently living in America; if a similar concession is available to undocumented Irish in the USA; if other nationalities get concessions not available to undocumented Irish emigrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8020/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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There is a range of non-immigrant visa categories under which eligible foreign nationals can apply for permission to work in the United States. In 2004, for example, over 18,000 Irish citizens obtained temporary working visas. Many of these were sponsored by their employers. Young people availing of the J1 visa programme are also included in this number. In addition to these general visa categories, there are a very limited number of bilateral visa arrangements between the US and other countries. These tend to be restrictive in their scope and applicability.

The US has bilateral visa arrangements with Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Singapore which were negotiated as part of trade agreements with those countries. Undocumented citizens of these countries are not eligible to participate in these programmes.

The US also has a bilateral visa arrangement with Ireland, that is, the Walsh visa programme. This programme, also known as the Irish peace process visa, permits young people from the North and Border counties to work in the US for two years.

US immigration law contains a provision that authorises the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant what is known as temporary protected status, TPS, to foreign nationals in the US, including undocumented persons, who are nationals of countries that are suffering the effects of ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. There is also a specific arrangement in place regarding Cuban nationals.

The Government's primary focus at present is on the current legislative proposals before Congress, and in particular on trying to ensure that the core elements of the Kennedy-McCain Bill are contained in any final compromise text that emerges. At the same time, we do, of course, keep under ongoing review the possibility of other options that might possibly improve the situation of our undocumented.