Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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127. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress that has been made in respect of the thousands of undocumented Irish in the United States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54357/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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This is an issue to which I accord very high priority, conscious of the acute difficulties experienced by Irish undocumented in the United States, many of whom I have met on my visits there. I have maintained contact, both directly and through our Embassy in Washington, with many key players in Congress including Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, Chair of the House Budgetary Committee and former Vice-Presidential nominee; Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee; leading Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressmen Mark Amodei, Spencer Bachus and Doug Collins; Minority House Leader Nancy Pelosi; Chair of the Congressional Friends of Ireland, Pete King; with House Speaker John Boehner and his staff and with the office of House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy. I have also maintained contact with key figures in the US Administration and with Irish-American community representatives. I have reiterated throughout all these contacts the Government’s interest in all aspects of immigration reform and in particular our interest in seeing an overall agreement reached which provides relief for currently undocumented Irish migrants and a facility for future flows of legal migration between Ireland and the US.

In this context, we very much welcomed the US Senate’s approval of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Bill by a 68-32 margin on 27 June last.

The comprehensive draft legislation, which was prepared over several months by a bi-partisan group of eight US Senators, provides for extensive reform of the US immigration system. It includes provisions that would legalise the status of undocumented Irish people and provide a path to permanent residency. It also provides for future flows of legal migration between Ireland and the US via the proposed E-3 visa. The focus has since shifted to the House of Representatives for its consideration of the issues and a key factor here remains convincing the Republican House Majority of the importance of making progress. It remains to be seen whether a consolidated Bill can be agreed between the Senate and the House of Representatives. It is generally accepted that securing overall agreement will be a complex and challenging process, particularly at a time when Congress has been preoccupied by budgetary and debt issues. This was clear from my most recent contacts and I believe the challenge to secure agreement has become even greater in recent times. I am determined to continue to deploy all necessary resources at political, diplomatic and Irish community level to make progress on this vital issue. In support of this ongoing effort, a delegation of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade visited Washington DC in October last for a programme arranged by our Embassy during which they met with key members of Congress and with Irish-American community representatives.

I wrote to US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on 12 December, reiterating our position and underlining our continuing strong interest in the prospect of reform of the US immigration system. I expressed the hope that the House will engage further in these issues in early 2014 leading to a positive legislative outcome.

The Embassy in Washington continues our intensive follow-up work with all of our contacts on Capitol Hill and particularly with the Republican House leadership. It also continues to coordinate our lobbying efforts with our Irish-American community representatives. I wish to acknowledge the critically important role being played by these community organisations, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform and the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.