Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 337: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the outcome of An Taoiseach's discussions with President Obama regarding Irish immigrants in the USA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12845/09]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 338: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way the introduction of the E3 visa programme will benefit the undocumented Irish community in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12846/09]

John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 341: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress of discussions he has had with the new administration in the United States to regularise the position of the thousands of undocumented Irish in the US; his views on whether a bilateral agreement will result from his discussions with the US authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12997/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 337, 338 and 341 together.

The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to developing our bilateral migration arrangements with the United States, including finding a solution for our undocumented citizens. The Taoiseach and I emphasised the importance of this issue in our engagements with the US Administration and Congress during our visit to the United States for the St Patrick's Day period. Our support for the undocumented and for a new E3 bilateral programme was highlighted during our meetings with President Obama, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy. In addition, I raised the issue at my meeting with Secretary of State Clinton and in my discussions with Senator Chuck Schumer and Congresswoman Zoë Lofgren, the respective Chairs of the Senate and House subcommittees on immigration.

At each of these meetings, the Taoiseach and I outlined how, in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, the Government has been actively pursuing a bilateral approach, aimed at facilitating greater legal migration between the two countries. We recalled our three-pronged strategy: a reciprocal Working Holiday Agreement (now operational); new bilateral arrangements to provide reciprocal long term E3 working visas; and a solution for our undocumented.

The provision of long term working visas similar to the E3 visas available to Australian citizens has already formed the basis for detailed discussions with senior members of Congress over the past twelve months. The inclusion of Ireland in an expanded version of the E3 programme would provide extensive new opportunities for Irish people to work in the United States and help ensure that a new generation of undocumented Irish does not develop. I am pleased to report that we received a very encouraging response to this initiative during our meetings in Washington. Discussions on the detail will continue, in the first instance through our Embassy in Washington.

The clear advice we received from both the Administration and Congress is that the position of undocumented residents continues to be a matter of considerable political sensitivity in the US. Those to whom we spoke were clear that it will not be possible to address the situation of the undocumented through an E3 visa facility and that the issue can only be tackled in the context of comprehensive immigration reform. We received no encouragement for the notion that it would be possible to address the situation of undocumented Irish immigrants in isolation from other ethnic groups.

Mindful of these challenges, the Government is determined to continue to highlight the difficulties facing our undocumented and to press for reform. As the Deputies will be aware, President Obama, along with other senior members of the new Administration, including Secretary of State Clinton, have been strong supporters of comprehensive reform. Both they and many of the lawmakers the Taoiseach and I spoke to during our visit reiterated their strong support for reform. The Government and our missions in the US will continue to work closely with Irish community organisations in the United States, including the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, with whom I met in New York in the course of the recent visit.