25 Oct 2013, 13:07
An all-party delegation from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs & Trade has spent two days in Washington in a round of meetings on the situation of the undocumented Irish in the US and on future visa access for Irish people.
Pat Breen TD, Chairman of the Committee, Gerald Nash TD, Sean Crowe TD and Senator Mark Daly met 16 members of the House of Representatives, mainly Republicans, whose support on the issue of immigration is essential, as well as senior White House officials.
The delegation also consulted with leaders of key Irish-American community groups and attended President Obama’s White House speech on Thursday October 24th in which he urged Congress to act on immigration reform by year’s end.
Chairman Breen said: “We have been greatly encouraged by our visit. We are satisfied from our meetings with Congressmen, including Paul Ryan and Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy, that despite recent difficulties, a will exists on both sides of the aisle in the House to resolve this issue. We look forward to early adoption of bi-partisan legislation that would resolve difficulties of the undocumented and provide future flows of visas for Irish people who want to live and work in the United States.”
At the delegation’s meeting with Paul Ryan, whose forebears came from Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny, Chairman Breen presented him with a Clare jersey and told him: “That has become a winner’s jersey after a wait of 16 years – we hope it will also become a winner’s jersey for immigration reform.”
Media Enquiries to:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551
E: ciaran.brennan@oireachtas.ie