Mr. Niall Burgess:

I would distinguish it from the political response we would make to actions of the US Administration with which we do not agree. There is an open and at times robust discussion on many issues, including global and regional. That is a part of the relationship and it has been a part of the relationship for quite some time now.

Ireland-US relations are probably unmatched in their richness and complexity outside the European Union. Martin Shanahan was reflecting one aspect of those relations, which are incredibly important to us but are actually very important to the US as well. Close to 100,000 US workers are employed by Irish investors in the US.