TAOISEACH'S US VISIT:ECONOMIC ISSUES are expected to dominate the Taoiseach's 40-minute meeting with US president Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday. A leading Washington publication reported at the weekend that Mr Cowen was "heading to Washington as a global spokesman for fiscal restraint".
Speaking to reporters in Chicago, the Taoiseach played down suggestions that the president was planning to come to Ireland in the near future, saying there was “no official indication” that a visit was in the offing.
“He’s very conscious of his Irish heritage,” Mr Cowen said. “He has an open invitation – a standing invitation to visit Ireland whenever it’s convenient. He has many responsibilities and issues to deal with, both domestically and abroad, and we Irish understand that and if, at any time, he can call to visit his ancestral home, he would be more than welcome.”
Mr Obama has a connection through his forebears with Moneygall, Co Offaly, in the Taoiseach’s own constituency.
The Washington Postreported at the weekend that, "at a time of deep concern over growing government debt in Europe and the US, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen is heading to Washington as a global spokesman for fiscal restraint".
The report adds that the Government’s policies have been “paying off” in fiscal terms but, “its approval ratings are among the lowest in recent Irish history”.
In the course of a speech at an Irish-American dinner at the weekend, the Taoiseach said that, since his previous visit to Chicago in 2007, the city had “become renowned around the world as the home town of your president”.
“His victory was an inspirational moment in the history of the world and I look forward to seeing him again for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the White House,” Mr Cowen told the Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago.
One of the key themes of the Taoiseach’s visit is the reciprocal nature of the economic relationship between Ireland and the US.
Standing alongside Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley at the start of Saturday’s St Patrick’s parade, Mr Cowen said: “It’s a source of great pride to me that our national day is celebrated right across the world, and Chicago has been a great, welcoming home – not only for the Irish.”
He stressed that the “great sense of kinship between Ireland and America” did not derive only from the past but also from “the very vibrant present relationship we enjoy in trade and investment”.
Irish companies in the US employed about 85,000 people, or about the same number as were employed by US companies in Ireland. “That shows a maturation of the relationship,” he said.
Mr Cowen is also expected to update Mr Obama on the latest developments in the North.
The Taoiseach embarked yesterday on the second phase of his US visit, meeting technology entrepreneurs in California’s Silicon Valley.
