Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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78. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made to identify with and support the needs of the undocumented Irish in the US; the extent to which ongoing negotiations continue to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53491/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government continues to identify with and support the needs of Irish immigrants living in the United States, including undocumented Irish citizens.

The Government remains wholly committed to working with the US authorities to resolve the plight of the undocumented Irish, while respecting the right of the United States to set its own immigration policies.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has worked closely with Irish immigration centres in the United States for many years on this issue.

During my visit to New York for the UN General Assembly last September, I met with representatives of the four Irish Immigration Centres in the region and with a representative of the US-wide Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres.

Those meetings were an opportunity for me to hear first-hand about the issues impacting on the undocumented. It was also an opportunity for me to update those present on our efforts, at both political and official level, to find a solution for the undocumented Irish. Those efforts are continuing.

The Government continues to avail of all opportunities to raise US immigration reform and the status of the undocumented Irish with the US administration and with key contacts on Capitol Hill.

I met with a senior State Department official during my September visit and I was able to further emphasise the Government’s commitment to this issue when I travelled to Washington DC on 3 - 5 October last.

The Government’s commitment to the undocumented has again been evidenced by the appointment of Deputy John Deasy as special envoy to Congress on the undocumented Irish.

Deputy Deasy accompanied me on my October visit to Washington DC and together we engaged with senior members of the US administration and with members of Congress, including the Congressional Friends of Ireland Group.

Deputy Deasy has been very active since his appointment, visiting the US a total of four times since his appointment - in July, September, October, and November.

In addition to contact at political level, officials from our Embassy in Washington D.C. stay in regular contact with the administration and with congressional contacts on both sides of the aisle.

Ireland’s ambassador to the United States, Dan Mulhall, hosted a round table discussion on the undocumented on 25 October last with Irish community representatives from across the United States, including representatives of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres.

None of us, however, underestimate the size of the challenge facing us.

This policy area has been a deeply divisive issue within the US political system for decades, with pronounced disagreement, even within the same political parties, on the best way to deal with an issue which directly affects over 11 million people.

The Deputy can be assured that officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both here and in Washington, D.C., will, under my direction, continue to give priority to this issue, mindful of its importance to the undocumented themselves and their families in Ireland.