Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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150. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to possible changes to the J1 visa scheme for Irish citizens; if he discussed the issue on his recent visit to the USA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6525/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The US J1 Summer Work and Travel programme has been a tremendously successful part of the Irish-US bilateral relationship for almost 50 years, with 150,000 Irish third level students taking the opportunity to experience life and work in the US over that time.

The Government does not have any role in administering the J1 scheme, which is a programme of the US Department of State run by a number of not-for-profit US sponsoring bodies, who, in turn, work with commercial agencies here in Ireland.

Nevertheless, the Embassy of Ireland in Washington, DC, led by Ambassador Anne Anderson and her colleagues, are in on-going contact with the US State Department regarding the various options available to Irish citizens within the J1 suite of programmes. In addition, officials from my Department are also in regular contact with the US Embassy in Dublin in relation to the J1 programme.

I am particularly conscious of the importance of the J1 Summer Work and Travel (SWT) option within the J1 programme, which continues to offer important learning opportunities to Irish students, to work and visit the US each summer.

I can assure the Deputy of the Government’s commitment to the continued success of the J1 programme, which is an important component of our bilateral relationship with the United States.