TDs and senators have bowed to the US ambassador Mr James C. Kenny's demand that talks about difficulties facing Irish illegal immigrants in the US should be held behind closed doors. Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, reports.
Last week, the ambassador declined to take up an invitation to speak with the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs once he realised that the meeting would be in public.
Chaired by Fine Gael TD Mr Bernard Allen, the committee discussed Mr Kenny's reaction yesterday, eventually deciding to accept his request for a private encounter.
Clearly unhappy, Mr Allen said he believed that the ambassador had "an obligation to respond to reasonable and valid requests".
However, the committee had agreed to hold the meeting in private because the plight of Irish "illegals" was something that needed to "be pursued".
"It was decided that we should not over-react. The important thing now is to get progress on the issue," Mr Allen told The Irish Times.
However, the Cork North Central TD said it was "ironic that an ambassador from a free and open democracy should want to discuss a vital issue behind closed doors".
The US embassy last night continued to defend its decision, which was mandated by a US State Department ruling.
"Ambassador Kenny has asked the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Houses of the Oireachtas to defer the planned Tuesday meeting to discuss visa issues due to a misunderstanding about the venue and format of the meeting.
"Ambassador Kenny is fully prepared to meet with TDs, senators, and other Irish officials to discuss this and other important issues.
"However, Department of State policy is for ambassadors to meet with parliamentary representatives only informally, and Ambassador Kenny looks forward to meeting with concerned legislators on that basis," said a spokesman.
Before Christmas, Mr Kenny spoke publicly repeatedly about the case of Mr Alan Whelan and his cousin, Cliff, both aged 23, from Waterford, who were arrested in Montana after they overstayed their visa.
Last night, US sources pointed out that a public debate at an Oireachtas inquiry on television could have led to discussion about the private affairs of Irish citizens who have run into trouble.
The purpose of a meeting between the Oireachtas and the ambassador would be to debate in depth the issue. "This could not happen in public," one source told The Irish Times.
The two Waterford cousins, who were finally released before Christmas, were held at gunpoint, clapped in irons and held in a jail alongside murderers and rapists.