Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 754: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of people who have applied for the intern work and travel programme which provides for a 12 month visa for Irish citizens to work in the USA; and the number of same who have been successful since its inception. [32983/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The working holiday agreement which was concluded between the Irish and US governments in September last year became operational in January of this year. This agreement allows those enrolled in or recently graduated from, post secondary education to apply for a visa to work and live in the United States for a period of one year.

This reciprocal programme is also open to US citizens wishing to spend a year in Ireland. The agreement represents the successful completion of one strand of the government's three pronged strategy to address migration flows between Ireland and the USA. We continue to work with the US Administration to agree a reciprocal long term working visa and to find a solution for the undocumented Irish in America.

For Irish citizens the working holiday agreement is administered in two stages. In the first instance an application must be made to an authorised sponsoring organisation who take the decision to issue a DC-2019 form which applicants must then present to the American Embassy in Dublin who take the final decision to issue the visa. The largest sponsoring organisations are currently USIT Travel and the Boston Irish Immigration Centre (BIIC). These organisations have received 231 applications. While precise details of approvals are not available, I understand that the vast majority have been approved.

For American citizens, applications must be lodged through the embassy in Washington or one of our Consulates General throughout the USA. To date 102 visas have been issued, 15 applications have been approved but not yet issued and a further 5 are currently pending approval, subject to further documentation. There have been 10 refusals issued to American citizens who were not eligible for the programme.

The working holiday agreement has proved positive to date and the government will continue to work with the US authorities and other organisations to ensure its continuation.