President Obama says undocumented Irish are denied the chance to contribute to society as they're not able to pay taxes.

President Obama says there are thousands of Irish immigrants in the U.S that are being 'denied' opportunities because of the US strict immigration laws.

The President was speaking at the traditional Shamrock ceremony at the White House as part of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

The issue of immigration reform was a top priority for the government as it spent part of the last two days in Washington lobbying for reform for the 50,000 undocumented Irish there.

President Obama says too many undocumented Irish are denied the chance to contribute to society as they're not able to pay taxes.

"The American Dream has always been the Irish-American dream. That's why so many of you have been working with us to fix our broken immigration system. Under today's laws many of your parents and grandparents may not have made it here, and too many men and women who want to contribute to our economy are being denied that chance."