Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

125. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress to date in Ireland securing access to the US E3 visa programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5733/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Securing future immigration flows between the U.S. and Ireland remains a priority for the Irish Government. The Government will continue to support all possible immigration pathways for Irish citizens looking to live and work in the U.S., while simultaneously respecting the fact that U.S. Immigration policy is a matter for the relevant U.S. authorities. The bipartisan reintroduction of the E3 bill in the US House of Representatives was a welcome development in May 2024. However, this bill lapsed with the conclusion of the last session of Congress at the end of 2024.

While the Government has continued to support efforts to get an ‘Irish specific’ category of E3 visa, the challenges to enacting such legislation should not be underestimated. Almost every U.S. legislative proposal related to immigration reform in the last decade has stalled in Congress. Nonetheless, we continue to take all opportunities to develop immigration pathways for Irish people who wish to live and work in the United States.