Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 316: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contacts he has had recently with the US authorities regarding undocumented Irish citizens living in that country. [41463/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Finding a solution for our undocumented citizens in the US continues to be a high priority of this Government. We are also committed to developing our bilateral migration arrangements with the United States, through the establishment of a reciprocal two year renewable E3 visa scheme. In discussions with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, during her visit to Ireland in October, I stressed that the Government was continuing to pursue a three pronged strategy to address migratory flows between Ireland and the US. This strategy involves seeking a solution for the undocumented Irish, the establishment of an E3 visa and the continued expansion of the working holiday programme, which was concluded last year. In response to these issues, Secretary of State Clinton indicated that immigration reform may be addressed in early 2010, following the passage of health care legislation.

On my visit to Washington and New York on 14-17 October, I held extensive discussions on the prospect for progress on immigration reform with significant number of key Democrat sand Republicans in Congress. These included the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator John McCain, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Bob Casey, Senator Paul Kirk, the Chair of the House Sub Committee on Immigration, Zoe Lofgren and the members of the House of Representatives Friends of Ireland Group. There was considerable support expressed at these meetings for efforts to find a solution for the undocumented and for the E3 visa initiative. I received some indications that a comprehensive immigration bill which would address the concerns of the undocumented could be introduced in Congress in Spring 2010 but I was also told that such a timetable could be influenced by ongoing debate on health care reform and the fact that 2010 will be an election year in the US.

In New York, I also had a very useful meeting with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, who are continuing to lobby for the undocumented Irish, with the assistance of former Congressman Bruce Morrison. During my visit, I was pleased to announce a further grant of $50,000 to ILIR. This brings to $285,000, the total amount of funding allocated by the Government to ILIR since 2006.