'Ireland carries a blood link with us', says Obama

THE RELATIONSHIP:FROM THE US point of view, President Barack Obama's visit yesterday was above all a celebration of the close relationship between the two countries; all is sweetness and light. There are no problems between them.

Mr Obama made clear that the visit was more about the bond between the two countries than about policy. “Ireland carries a blood link with us,” he said. “And for the millions of Irish Americans, this continues to symbolise the homeland and the extraordinary traditions of an extraordinary people.” Though US officials will not comment on a domestic political motivation, it escapes no one that the visit will play well with tens of millions of Irish-Americans.

Mr Obama and Taoiseach Enda Kenny nonetheless touched on virtually all bilateral questions, as well as the Arab Spring and the Israeli-Palestinian question.

About a third of the 45-minute meeting was devoted to the Irish economy. On Ireland’s financial situation, Mr Obama said, “We’re glad to see that progress is being made in stabilising the economic situation here . . . We are rooting for Ireland’s success and we’ll do everything that we can to be helpful on the path to recovery.”

The US president offered no concrete assistance for Ireland, other than saying “We want to continue to strengthen the bonds of trade and commerce between our two countries”. Those bonds are substantial. Mr Kenny reminded Mr Obama that US corporations have created 100,000 jobs in Ireland, and that Irish investment has generated 82,000 jobs in the US.

Tom Donohue, the head of the US Chamber of Commerce, said on May 18th that US investment in Ireland, which totalled $235 billion in 2009, is more than the US has invested in Brazil, Russia, India and China combined.

Mr Obama told the Taoiseach that he will be mindful of Irish sensitivities as he reforms the US corporate tax system. US corporate tax is to be lowered several points, and there has been concern in Ireland that this could make the 12.5 per cent Irish corporate rate less attractive.

The International Monetary Fund was discussed only in general terms. The feeling in the US administration is that the interest rate on Ireland’s bailout – the primary concern for the Irish government now – is more in the hands of the EU and the ECB than the IMF, where the US wields influence.

Reports that the US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner last November vetoed an IMF plan to allow “haircuts” for Irish bondholders did not come up with Mr Obama, nor were they mentioned when Mr Kenny met Mr Geithner in Washington in March.

The president told Mr Kenny he is working on comprehensive immigration reform, as outlined in his recent speech in El Paso. He said it would be helpful to put an Irish face on the issue, which most Americans think of only as Hispanic. Both the US and Irish governments know that reform is highly unlikely before the 2012 presidential election.

Democratic senators Chuck Schumer and Patrick Leahy are working on a limited immigration package that would deal with enforcement, the “Dream” act for undocumented students, agricultural workers and possibly an E-3 visa deal for the Irish.

The E-3 deal would provide a number of renewable, two-year non-immigrant visas for Irish and Americans on a reciprocal basis.

Mr Obama renewed the oft-made comparison between the peace process in Northern Ireland and the Israeli-Palestinian problem. The progress in Northern Ireland “speaks to the possibilities of peace and people in longstanding struggles being able to re-imagine their relationships,” the president said in his public remarks. He used Bobby Kennedy’s phrase, saying that Northern Ireland “sends . . . ‘a ripple of hope’ that may manifest itself in a whole range of ways”.

In a private meeting at Áras an Uachtaráin, President Mary McAleese and Mr Obama discussed the importance of language and words – whether it be the historic words chosen by Queen Elizabeth last week, regarding Northern Ireland or the Middle East.

Mr Obama was criticised by the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and by his Republican adversaries for his November 20th speech, in which he said that Israel’s 1967 borders should be the starting point for negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Mr Kenny expressed Irish support for Mr Obama’s speech.

The president appeared fascinated by the gift which Mr Kenny gave him, a 1922 volume by Padraic Colum about the myths and legends of Hawaii, where Mr Obama was born. “It’s not for you; it’s for Sasha and Malia!” Mr Kenny reminded him.

“It just confirms that if you need somebody to do some good writing, you hire an Irishman,” said Mr Obama, who has two Irish-American speechwriters.