Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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362. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide details of his recent visit to the United States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35780/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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For the UN engagements on my programme during my visit I would refer the Deputy to my answer to questions no. 351 and 352.I began in New York on 27 September with a visit to the New York Irish Centre, where I heard first-hand about the great work done in the area of mental health by Pieta House in New York, supported by my Department’s Emigrant Support Programme, as well as meeting with patrons, the Board and Management of the Centre. I then visited the Irish Famine Memorial in Battery Park and heard of plans to assure its long term sustainability. Given the importance of trade promotion,on 29 September I addressed an audience of 150 international financial services professionals at a joint Enterprise Ireland/BNY Mellon showcase event.

Six Irish companies took part in the event, which allowed them to interact with the key influencers, investors and buyers of payment technology in the North American market, while also helping to create awareness of Ireland’s strengths in this sector.

In Washington on 30 September, I met with key Democratic and Republican contacts on Capitol Hill, including Congressmen Joseph Kennedy III, Paul Ryan, James Sensenbrenner, Richard Neal and other members of the Congressional Friends of Ireland group, and also with Senator Patrick Leahy. The main focus of our discussions was on developments on the Northern Ireland peace process and on the prospects for immigration reform. On foot of these meetings, a Bill has now been tabled by Congressman Sensenbrenner in the US House of Representatives, which aims to provide access to several thousand E3 visas for Irish citizens. I warmly welcome this positive step towards meeting the desire of many Irish people to live and work in the US for a time, but would also point out that there is a great deal of work to be done in both Houses of Congress before this Bill might become law. I am also aware that while this particular measure would help with our objective of securing improved legal migration channels, it would not address the concerns of undocumented citizens currently in the US. These remain a key priority for this government and continue to be the subject of our ongoing contacts with the US authorities.

At a lunch hosted by Ambassador Anderson I had a productive exchange on Northern Ireland with a number of Irish-Americans and friends of Ireland with a long-standing interest and involvement in the peace process. I also met with a senior representative of Vice President Biden’s staff and later that day addressed a special event on Capitol Hill to highlight the work of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI).

Back in New York, on 1 October, I met over a working breakfast with leading figures from the Irish-American community in New York. I briefed them on the latest developments in Northern Ireland, the prospects for U.S. immigration reform, developments on the Irish economy and the upcoming 2016 commemorations.

There was a lively and useful exchange on some of these topics.After the breakfast, I presented the inaugural W.B. Yeats Emerging Playwright Competition award and launched the inaugural Frank McCourt Scholarship, both initiatives supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which are designed to recognise and celebrate Irish culture in the United States. I then met with some of the Board of the New York Irish Arts Centre to be briefed on progress on their major redevelopment project, which will see a new state of the art facility developed as a showcase for Irish culture in New York. Ireland has provided $4.65 million towards the expected capital costs of the project of $62 million.

Finally I had a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Ms. Victoria Nuland, to discuss developments in Northern Ireland. Some international and bilateral issues, including in particular our concerns about proposed changes to the J1 programme, were also discussed with Ms. Nuland.