Monday, November 5, 2007

FG Private Members Motion To Seek Bilateral Agreement With US On Immigration

This week FG will introduce a private members motion in the Dail seeking a bilateral agreement between Ireland and the US. It is based on the Australian-US model. This allows 10,000 Australians work in the US annually while US citizens are granted the same number of Australian visas in return.
This is the text of the motion:

That Dáil Éireann, noting:
- the estimated 25,000 - 50,000 Irish emigrants living and working in the USA of undocumented status- the difficulties that the undocumented Irish experience because of their irregular legal status and the fear of deportation- the contribution that Irish emigrants make to the US economic, social and cultural life - the strong economic ties between the island of Ireland and the United States and- the growing level of social, political and economic cooperation on the island of Ireland, following the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
and in light of:
an existing bilateral agreement between Australia and the USA which allows 10,000 Australians work in the US annually while US citizens are granted the same number of Australian visas in return.
calls on the Government to:
ensure that all political and diplomatic efforts are made at the highest level towards securing a bilateral agreement between the island of Ireland and the US which would mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in 2008 and would
- encourage a deepening of social and economic ties between the island of Ireland and the United States- help regularise the position of the undocumented Irish in the US- establish a system of renewable non immigrant visas between the island of Ireland and the United States- facilitate citizens of the United States and especially members of the Irish diaspora who wish to live or work in Ireland
Michael Ring TD and all Fine Gael Deputies

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