Proposal to trade work visas with US

A proposal to legalise the undocumented Irish living in the US in exchange for Irish work permits for Americans has been made by Tony Killeen, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Mr Killeen is promoting the idea following his return from a Fás exhibition in New York where there was strong interest from Americans in Irish jobs.

"The interest expressed by Americans to come and work in Ireland was so great that a queue more than two-and-a-half blocks-long formed outside the exhibition venue," he said.

"In 2005, over 4,300 Americans immigrated to Ireland in search of employment, compared to 1,700 Irish people travelling to the US," Mr Killeen said. "There is clear evidence to support the establishment of some form of bilateral agreement between the US and Irish governments."

The number of undocumented Irish living in the US has fallen greatly in recent years. It is now estimated there are fewer than 40,000 Irish illegals in the US.

Mr Killeen said he was optimistic some form of working agreement could be pursued. He believed it would be "pretty much impossible" for the US authorities to favour the Irish over other ethnic groups but the establishment of a bilateral agreement would get around this problem.

He plans on raising this issue with Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.

"Obviously, it will be all about the details," the Minister of State said. "We would have to work out a formula. It would probably have to operate on a quota system."

The Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres (CIIC) which represents emigrant groups in the US, has welcomed Mr Killeen's promise to pursue this plan.

Sheila Gleeson, executive director of CIIC, said there was "no doubt" the US immigration system was not working for anyone. "However, we are encouraged to see that the Irish Government is actively putting pressure on their EU counterparts to regularise the status of the undocumented Irish," she said.

Meanwhile, the new green card system for non-EU workers is expected to come into force later this year or early next year.Green cards will initially be issued for two years but there will be an opportunity to extend this to permanent residency.

The new system will apply to a variety of occupations earning €60,000 or more. Green cards will also be issued to people in the €30,000 to €60,000 range but the list of occupations is much shorter. It includes jobs in information technology, healthcare, construction and finance.