Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As a consequence of the Covid19 pandemic, this year’s programme of events to mark St. Patrick’s Day took place online.

On 17 March, I had meetings with President Biden, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, and with members of the Friends of Ireland caucus.

My discussions with President Biden, covered a broad range of issues including: Covid-19; the Ireland-US bilateral relationship; Northern Ireland; Brexit; the importance of multilateral engagement, including the Paris Climate Accord, the WHO, and the UN Human Rights Council; and the relationship between the USA and the EU.

We also discussed immigration reform. I expressed my support for President Biden’s proposed approach to immigration reform, and my hope that reform would provide the undocumented Irish with a pathway to regularise their status. As the Deputy will be aware, this is a complex and politically challenging issue that affects people from a wide range of countries to which President Biden has proposed a comprehensive response.

In addition, I thanked the President for his continuing support for the E-3 Visa Bill, which I hope to see reintroduced in the Senate. Following our meeting, President Biden and I issued a Joint Statement in which we expressed our shared support for an earned path to citizenship for immigrants in the United States.

Immigration issues also arose in my discussions with Vice President Harris and with Speaker Pelosi.