Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was there for about 15 minutes. I am not sure that it was an official fund-raiser for him or his party. My conversation with him was in regard to the undocumented Irish. He extended an invitation to drop by to an event he had arranged. Obviously, he is quite a close friend of Ireland. He is influential in the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party and he is supportive of Ireland's immigration reform agenda. He was one of the honourees at the event organised by the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform on Capitol Hill on 12 March. It was not an occasion for me to make a public comment other than to speak directly to Congressman Mulvaney and ask him to continue to support the issue of dealing with the undocumented Irish and to provide long overdue relief for people suffering in that regard.

I apologise for having to cancel some of the questions. These things are sometimes outside my control.

I spoke directly in his office to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, and Congressmen Ryan, Goodlatte, and Mulvaney about the question of immigration reform. The Republican Party recognises the importance of dealing with the immigration issue. Clearly there is a range of views within the party, no more than in the Democratic Party. The Irish ambassador, Ms Anderson, is exceptionally active on the Hill in keeping members up to date and in trying to put together a group that will continue to focus clearly on what is needed in this regard. My impression, directly from Speaker Boehner, was that he is very anxious to get this done before November. There will be an opportunity before the autumn elections take place to deal with this, and it seems as if the congressmen are focused on attempting to sort it out. For us, it is 50,000 undocumented out of between 15 million and 20 million. These people will not be deported and there is a growing realisation in both parties that a path to legitimisation or to legal access to the US would allow them to contribute more fully to US society and the economy and to be able to travel back and forth to their home countries, no more than our own here.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is going to the USA in the next week or so to continue these discussions. I spoke to Ms Anderson in California last Thursday and Friday. She is focused on this at a high level of activity.

Now is a time for the American Administration to deal with this, as the Deputy correctly says, and I hope it does.

There was strong representation of American politicians at the Speaker's lunch on Capital Hill and they got a clear message about the importance for us of dealing with this. Deputy Adams was also in attendance. On the basis of what they were saying, it was not a case of just focusing on the question of e-visas. There was a strong reaction from the Republican Party members who said they wanted to deal with it comprehensively and that they had identified ways of doing that. I hope they can have the resolve and co-operation to make it happen. As the Deputy is aware, if it goes beyond the autumn elections the priorities in American politics will change and the opportunity will be lost. They and the Democrats are conscious of that. Senator Leahy and all of those to whom I spoke, as well as the Irish group there, are all focused on this. It is a case of the American political administration dealing with it. We will continue a high level of intense activity and the Tánaiste is visiting America next week.

I spoke to Dr. Richard Haass about his reflections on the outcome of the talks. He told me that he is to come over to Ireland to accept the Tipperary International Peace Award and that he might make other comments on his reflections on the talks there. We can see the difficulty here. I said to Deputy Adams last week or the week before that I wished to have an early meeting with his party and to meet with the Executive in Northern Ireland. The Tánaiste was there on Sunday and Monday with the Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers. There is an opportunity for some progress before the intensity of the marching season. I spoke to the Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, on the telephone last Saturday or Sunday week about the importance of moving this forward and not letting it drift into unfocused areas. The parties in Northern Ireland are meeting, but these are three issues about which there are clear sensitivities.

Dr. Richard Haass pointed out where progress could be made on a number of areas and, with the goodwill of the political process, it is a case of trying to make progress on that. If the Governments get involved, they would go beyond the Executive and the parties, who invited Dr. Richard Haass to Ireland to see if he and Meghan O'Sullivan could make progress on the past, parades and the legacy issues. It is a case of having a fix on what can be achieved. I have not spoken in detail to the Tánaiste about the outcome of his meeting with the Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers. I will meet with Deputy Adams and his people at an early date and talk to the Executive to see if, in the short time ahead, there is an opportunity for both Governments to get involved and make progress on a number of these areas.

I will be interested to hear Deputy Adams's views on where he considers we might be able to make progress on some of these matters. Clearly, nobody wishes to see a return to what happened previously. Along with the co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, this was a genuine attempt by the parties in Northern Ireland to involve themselves in a forum, chaired by Dr. Haass, and to see if progress could be made. There was a basis for progress in a number of areas, and we thank him for that. The parties have continued to meet. As to whether it is worth delving in on top of that if progress can be made, I will speak to the Tánaiste shortly about his discussions over the weekend with the Secretary of State.

See this speech in context