Parental leave and undocumented migrants
Senator White seeks an update on her parental-leave Bill and requests a debate on undocumented migrants; the Chair clarifies and records her proposed amendment.
I ask the Leader, Senator Maurice Cummins, to update us on the Bill I introduced, on behalf of Fianna Fáil, on parental leave, the intention of which was to allow fathers to share the maternity leave granted to women if the mothers of the children so wish. It was received in principle and I would like to know its current status.
As we speak, in Buswells Hotel the Irish Migrant Rights Council is launching a ground-breaking new survey of undocumented migrants in Ireland. We now have, for the first time, a picture of the undocumented population in Ireland. The vast majority are working in restaurants or as cleaners, carers or childminders, and a large percentage have young children here or in their country of origin. The research estimates that there are between 20,000 and 25,000 undocumented migrants in Ireland, including thousands of children. The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland is calling on the Government, particularly the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, to adopt a pragmatic approach to dealing with our broken immigration system. In response to that, civil servants from the Department of Justice and Equality had the audacity to say that this would be problematic. This happened on the very day that the American President, Mr. Obama, received a letter from the Taoiseach commending him for his presidential orders to deliver residency in the USA for up to five million immigrants, 50,000 of whom are Irish. It is ironic that the Minister for Justice and Equality and her office said the situation was problematic, while the Taoiseach was making headlines in The Irish Times today. The Taoiseach is quoted as having signed off his letter to President Obama by thanking him and expressing his appreciation for the humanity and leadership he has demonstrated. If one thinks immigrants in Ireland are any different from Irish immigrants in the USA, one should note that they face the same problems. We need to regularise the position. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, calling on the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to the House to update us on this critical issue.
