Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I have not put in a request for a meeting with the President-elect of the United States, Mr. Obama, other than to send my good wishes on his election. He should be allowed the opportunity to settle into his new post. He has many preparatory issues to deal with before taking office in January. As I said last week, we should leave it at that for now. We intend to work closely with his Administration in developing our bilateral relations with the United States, which continue to be excellent, specifically in regard to the issue of the undocumented Irish. That is an ongoing issue.

There is a new Congress and we will have to wait and see how the matter can be progressed. It is a difficult issue in the context of domestic politics in the United States, but it is an issue on which we continue to make our case in order to assist those in the difficult situation of not having proper status in terms of how they work and live in the United States. We had a helpful decision in regard to the visa programme and other efforts are being made to build on that. It is early days as far as the new Administration is concerned and we must wait to determine whether there is a political will to revisit this issue and find a creative and helpful solution.

Regarding the visit of the President of the Czech Republic, he is here on a state visit and I do not wish to enter into any controversy on the matter. He has well known views, which he has consistently held, on various aspects of policy and he has articulated those here in Ireland. I do not wish to add anything to what the Minister for Foreign Affairs had to say this morning. We have freedom of speech and we live in a democracy. People have views on this issue, with many of our own citizens expressing that view last May in the referendum, which we respect. We must move on from there and see how to deal with the issues that now arise. I do not wish to say anything that would in any way affect the cordial welcome that the President, Mr. Klaus, has received in Ireland. I understand he is visiting Czech citizens living in Cork today. He is welcome here and I wish him well on his return.

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