Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Smith raised the issue of my conversations with President Biden on the Good Friday Agreement. The President has been very consistent, in all my conversations with him, on the imperative of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and also on the importance of the protocol in the context of the trade agreement between the UK and EU. Deputy Smith referenced the idea of restoring the post of US special envoy to Northern Ireland. That idea has merit and is something we will continue to engage with the President and his Administration on. That post lapsed some time ago but it is something that should be reflected upon. Overall, Deputy Smith's point has merit.

Deputy Haughey raised a number of issues. He is correct in saying that the US President has very warm personal feelings for Ireland. I invited him to Ireland and without hesitation he said that there was nothing he would like better than to come to Ireland as President of the United States. Obviously, his schedule is the key in that regard but he has a great affinity with and affection for the country and is very warm in his engagement with us.

The build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine is very worrying and is giving concern to the US Administration and also the European Union. We look forward to engagement between President Biden and President Putin on that issue because it needs to be resolved through negotiation. We want to avoid conflict in that situation, which is a worry given the scale of the build-up.

Deputy McDonald raised President Biden's commitment to the Good Friday Agreement. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, recently met the Friends of Ireland. The support from Capitol Hill, on both sides of the aisle, has been very strong in relation to the logic and importance of the protocol but also the importance of the Good Friday Agreement and the need for the EU and UK to resolve this in a timely and negotiated way.

I did not have the opportunity of discussing legacy with President Biden. I do not know if the Deputy saw last night's RTÉ programme on the kidnapping of Don Tidey. Garda Gary Sheehan and Private Patrick Kelly were murdered in their bid to free Don Tidey. It was interesting that the families feel they have had no closure whatever. There is a need for people to come forward. In the Deputy's case, the movement that she knows of should come forward and give closure to those families who represented Ireland, Óglaigh na hÉireann and An Garda Síochána. I genuinely do. I am appealing and making a very strong case to the British Prime Minister. In my view, the British Government is wrong on this. The Irish Government is not in favour of what the British Government is proposing but there is a need for the provisional movement, essentially, to come forward and show cause-----

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