Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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354. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with US officials on changes to policy regarding the undocumented Irish in the United States. [40020/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Achieving relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US and agreement on a facility for future migration between Ireland and the US are longstanding Government objectives. We continue to be committed to these aims notwithstanding the changed political context in the United States.

The Government has raised the issue of immigration reform with US interlocutors – including at the highest levels – on many occasions. I personally raised the issue when I met then-Secretary of State John Kerry in Co. Tipperary, on 30 October 2016. I also raised it when I spoke to Speaker Paul Ryan by telephone on 23 November 2016.

The Government has also availed of every opportunity to sensitise the new Administration to our concerns and interests regarding immigration reform, and the plight of the undocumented Irish in particular. The Taoiseach raised the matter in his separate telephone conversations with then President-elect Trump and Vice-President-elect Pence in the days following the Presidential election. The issue will also feature high on the agenda for my planned visit to Washington DC in early February. The upcoming St. Patrick’s Day engagements will provide a further opportunity to express to senior figures in the new Administration and Congress our aims and concerns in relation to the undocumented.

In addition to these political efforts, our Embassy in Washington and our Consulates throughout the United States will continue to engage with Irish community groups in relation to their concerns. In recent days, the Ambassador Anderson convened a meeting of senior immigration stakeholders at our Embassy in Washington in order to hear directly from those who work most closely with the undocumented Irish.

We will also continue to support organisations that deliver frontline advisory services and community care to Irish emigrants through the Emigrant Support Programme. More than 70% of the funds allocated through this programme are directed towards welfare services, including in support of the undocumented Irish in the U.S. In the last funding round for the Emigrant Support Programme, organisations in the U.S were allocated more than €2.3 million in funding.

The Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Embassy in Washington continue to work closely with Irish-American community leaders in actively pursuing all viable opportunities to advance immigration reform. We will encourage and promote any realistic possibilities for a solution that may arise.