Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will use his influence with the US authorities with a view to regularisation of the undocumented Irish in the US; if he will seek a concession with a view to an amnesty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10000/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the resolution of the status of the undocumented Irish in the United States has a very high priority for the Government.

In pursuit of this priority, the coming St. Patrick's Day period provides a particularly valuable opportunity for the Taoiseach and myself to discuss all aspects of the situation with the President, with his Administration and with leading figures in Congress, and to seek to advance the agenda in every way possible. However, and as Deputies from different sides of the House will have learned at first hand from visits to Washington, the question of an amnesty is simply not on the legislative agenda in Congress at this time.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will meet a deputation of undocumented Irish people living in America on his forthcoming visit for St. Patrick's Day. [10007/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply to his question on this issue last Tuesday which was as follows. The programme for the St. Patrick's Day period in Washington for the Taoiseach and myself is now being finalised. We both would hope to meet the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, which is actively representing the interests of the undocumented, during our visit.

In my reply of 28 February to the Deputy's question, I emphasised that a particular priority of the Taoiseach's and my visit to Washington over the St. Patrick's Day period would be to convey to President Bush and his Administration, and to key players in Congress, the Government's strong support for measures to address the position of our undocumented. I am certain that our undocumented citizens would share this priority.

I am, as I likewise conveyed in my reply of 28 February, acutely aware of the concerns of the undocumented, not least from my own visits to the United States. These concerns are also conveyed through regular reports from the embassy and consulates, including of meetings with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, ILIR. I have been very happy to make a grant of €30,000 available to the ILIR, which is actively representing the interests of our undocumented.

I very much hope to meet personally with the ILIR during my visit to Washington. In addition to my earlier reply, I take it that this envisaged meeting with the ILIR subsumes the sense of the Deputy's question.