John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline details of the planned visit by US President Joe Biden to Ireland in April; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13673/23]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to raise the issue of the welcome announcement last week that the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, will visit Ireland in the next month or so. Will the Minister give some details, if any details are available yet, on the nature of the visit, what the itinerary looks like, where exactly he will visit, and who he will engage with?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The forthcoming visit of President Biden will be an historic occasion for Ireland. It will be a significant event, celebrating the strong ties between the people of Ireland and the people of the United States. We all know that the President has for a long time been a great friend of Ireland, in fact he wears this on his sleeve, and he does not hide his Irishness and his background.

President Biden has, over many decades, been a very active supporter of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement. The engagement of successive United States of America Administrations, its Congress, and the Irish diaspora, has been indispensable over the past three decades and will continue to play a part in ensuring that peace and economic progress on the island of Ireland continues, and will underpin the Good Friday Agreement. We are especially conscious of the role President Biden played in the aftermath of Brexit in making it very clear that he would not comprehend any undermining of the Good Friday Agreement.

It is particularly welcome that President Biden will come this year to mark 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which was a transformational moment in the history of this island, and that he will also travel to Northern Ireland. It is an opportunity for Ireland and the United States to reaffirm our joint commitment to protecting and building upon the peace in Northern Ireland. Obviously, it offers us an opportunity to reinforce the strong historic, economic, cultural, and family ties between our two nations, as well as an opportunity to discuss current international issues.

I do not have the details of the President's visit. They are still at the planning stage and I believe it is a matter for the President to outline his itinerary. We know that he has a fondness for certain parts of Ireland because of his family background on both sides-----

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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There will be lots of new claims.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, there will be lots of new claims as well. Of course, he is probably the best quoter of Irish poetry at any international forum. I have had the pleasure of attending a number of summits of EU Council meetings and meetings between Europe and NATO and so on where his introduction would be a quotation from an Irish poet. I was the Taoiseach at the time. President Biden would say that I was used to him quoting Irish poets, not because they are Irish but "because they're the best poets". He has been a great advocate for Ireland and a great supporter of ours, which we appreciate.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I agree that the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is an ideal opportunity for the President to visit Ireland. We are aware of the influence that Irish America had 25 years ago in the entire peace process and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The President is very proud of his Irish heritage, as the Minister has outlined. He wears it on his sleeve and it is great to see a President with such strong Irish roots. He has essentially made the White House an open door for Irish politicians to go and let all issues Irish be heard.

The visit should also be seized as an opportunity to influence the bad decision by the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, to stay out of the Assembly. I am aware that an invitation has been extended to the President to address the Assembly. It is difficult when it is not sitting. What influence can the Tánaiste and the Government bring to bear on the President to try to influence the DUP to end its boycott of the Assembly and the Executive in the North?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In the first instance, I have held the consistent view that once elections have been held all political parties that participated in any election should immediately form a Parliament and create an Executive. This is the democratic thing to do. That has always been my view, irrespective of issues around Brexit and the protocol. President Biden has been very positive about that issue and very firm in underpinning the Good Friday Agreement and that there would be no hard border on the island of Ireland.

The visit is not one where I would attempt to embroil President Biden in any political situation. He has maintained a very strong interest in and engagement with this issue, as has the US Administration in its dialogue with the Irish Government and the United Kingdom Government. He has already encouraged - and would like to encourage - everybody to participate, particularly in the aftermath of the Windsor Framework agreement. In my view, that comprehensively addresses the issues that were raised by many members of the unionist parties on the protocol.

The US President's presence in itself is a clear signal that it is not just about 25 years having passed but also that we should pivot to the future economically. President Biden's appointment of Joe Kennedy as an envoy speaks to his commitment to make the 25th anniversary a significant catalyst for economic growth in Northern Ireland.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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We are running seriously over time and I ask Members to please keep to time. I am a novice here. Take pity on me.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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The opportunity should also be taken to brief President Biden around the British amnesty legislation, if that has not happened by then. I hope it has been raised with the President. There is an opportunity to brief him on the issue. It is not every day that this happens, I believe 2011 was the last time we had a US President here in Ireland.

There is also the whole issue of the undocumented in America. This will be a key opportunity to try to push the issue to get a resolution for so many Irish people living in the United States of America, and to try to regularise their residency there.

Every opportunity should be taken when we have President Biden here. He is very proud of his Irish roots. If he does run again for the presidency hopefully we will see him get another term. God only knows what the situation will be if he does not. I dread to think. We should utilise this once in a lifetime opportunity to seize the momentum here on these key issues.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The US Administration has been briefed on the legacy issue. I was in Washington four weeks ago and I met the national security advisor, Mr. Jake Sullivan, and a number of key officials in the State Department with regard to the European and Irish question. I briefed them on our concerns around the legacy Bill, our opposition to the legacy Bill especially in the context of it not being in compliance with Article 2, and the general degree to which - in our view - it undermines human rights more generally but also human rights as a component of the Good Friday Agreement.

President Biden is committed to the issue of the undocumented.

The Deputy knows and I know that the real action has to be within Congress, in the House of Representatives and the Senate. We have been meeting with the Friends of Ireland, under the chairmanship of Mr. Richard Neal, who I met this week and with whom I participated in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Holyoke which is his area. We discussed the issue then. I also met people who are undocumented and it is a huge concern. Again, they need to reach a consensus in Congress. They are working to see if they can do something on the E3 visa, which they were close to doing previously.