Ahern makes 16 US lobby trips to ease plight of Irish

Foreign Affairs Minster Dermot Ahern has made 16 transatlantic trips to the US in two years to lobby for immigration reform, it emerged today.

Mr Ahern clocked up the air miles since he took up office at Iveagh House after a Cabinet reshuffle in September 2004.

The minister, who is taking Dáil questions on the issue tomorrow, said today that the months ahead would prove vital in securing citizenship status for Irish illegals.

The Government has renewed contacts with key US Congressional figures since the mid-term elections last week.

Mr Ahern said: “I will continue my active contact with Congressmen, embassy and consular staff and will lobby hard for an acceptable solution to the difficulties faced by the undocumented Irish.”

He has just returned from New York where he met Irish lobby groups, including the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform which received €110,000 in Government funding in 2006.

Members of Sinn Féin and the SDLP parties have also lobbied on the issue in Washington in recent months.