Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 12, inclusive, together.

On Wednesday, 5 June, I was pleased to welcome to Ireland the US President, Mr. Donald Trump, and the US First Lady. The US President and I had a substantive bilateral meeting. It was an important opportunity to enhance further the bilateral relationship between Ireland and the United States - a relationship that is important for political reasons, as well as for the welfare of many thousands of Irish citizens living in the US, for Americans of Irish descent, for Irish businesses in the US and for the hundreds of US firms investing in Ireland and sustaining jobs here. Our discussion focused on US-Ireland bilateral relations, including our economic ties; Brexit, in particular the importance of avoiding a hard border and the potential consequences for Northern Ireland; and visa and immigration issues, including the undocumented Irish in the United States.

President Trump was very positive in his assessment of US-Ireland relations. We discussed the strong performance of our respective economies and the growing two-way trading and investment relationship between the US and Ireland. I highlighted that approximately 100,000 people are employed in the US by Irish-owned companies and that client companies of Enterprise Ireland have opened 120 new offices in the US since President Trump took office. The US President remarked that Ireland is an excellent location for the overseas operations of US multinationals. We briefly discussed the US-Ireland trade balance and the fact that the US trade deficit in goods with Ireland is broadly offset by its surplus in services. He and his officials fully understand that the data on Ireland reflect the strong contribution of US multinationals to Ireland’s economy.

The US President was interested in Ireland’s perspective on Brexit and I explained our continued focus on ensuring there will be no return to a hard border on the island. He expressed his hope that Brexit will be ultimately resolved in a way that works for all sides but recognised the importance of avoiding any return to a hard border. The US President reiterated his backing for an E3 visa Bill to allow Irish citizens access to the US. I outlined the Government’s concern about the plight of the undocumented Irish in the US and we agreed Irish officials would continue to work with their US counterparts to explore resolutions to the issue.

While we did not have detailed discussions on climate change, I told the President of my intention to attend the UN climate action summit in New York. We did not discuss 5G security issues, other than some brief remarks to the media preceding the bilateral meeting. While the President and I were meeting, the US First Lady was hosted by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan, at a cultural performance by local artists. The visit by the US President and First Lady, and my meeting with the US President and his team, including Mr. Steven Mnuchin, Mr. Mick Mulvaney and Mr. John Bolton, represented another valuable opportunity to deepen one of Ireland’s most important bilateral relationships.

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