Ireland must ‘practise what we preach’ on undocumented people

Ireland needs to “practise what we preach” and address the issue of the undocumented living in the shadows of Irish society, the Dáil has heard.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said there were thousands of people in Ireland, including "thousands of children, who live in the shadows of our society".

He raised the concerns of the Irish undocumented in the US, and said Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald had "some awareness of the anxiety of undocumented Irish, many of whom were calling TDs' offices in their concern in the wake of the election of Donald Trump as the next US president".

He said the Migrant Rights’ Centre in turn said there were an estimated 20,000 to 26,000 undocumented immigrants in Ireland, of whom 2,000 to 6,000 were children

He said “if we’re going to take the position to protect the 50,000 Irish in the US is there not an absolute imperative on us to practise what we preach and address those in our State who are undocumented”.

Ms Fitzgerald said “we would encourage people to make contact with officials and regularise their position”. She said that every few months there were citizenship ceremonies, and “we have a very inclusive approach” to immigrants moving to Ireland to work and live.

Mr Howlin raised concerns about Trump’s position on immigration which was “directly opposite this country’s”.

Crucial issue

He asked what the Government was doing “to address the crucial issue” of the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US.

Ms Fitzgerald told him “I do want to confirm to this House that on immigration reform, relief for undocumented Irish remains a priority for Government”.

Answering Opposition Leaders’ Questions, Ms Fitzgerald said “the American people have spoken, and have democratically elected Donald Trump as their next president”.

She said the Government was taking a two-pronged approach. It was dealing with the regularisation of the undocumented and the creation of a standard immigration process.

Ms Fitzgerald said “we all know of the individual cases, the trauma and difficulty for the Irish who find themselves in this position”.

Contacts

She said “we have consistently raised this issue with our counterparts at every opportunity. We fully intend and will pursue this issue in our contacts with this administration.”

Ms Fitzgerald, who is Minister for Justice, said there was a long history of relationship between Ireland and America, and “there are many ties that bind us”. She described it as a “complex and multilayered relationship, based on shared community and economic and political ties”.

She said Taoiseach Enda Kenny had had a preliminary conversation with Mr Trump “and we will continue to pursue the values that we hold dear and the priority issues of which immigration reform remains an absolute priority”.