Ireland's relationship with the US is of key importance, yet the Government has allowed its priorities to be hijacked by a group lobbying for a tiny percentage of Irish citizens, argues Dan O'Brien
The plight of illegal, undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States strikes a chord in a country with such a long and painful history of emigration.
This backdrop has benefited those who lobby the Irish Government to make representations on their behalf to the US. Currently, when the issue is aired in Ireland, Cabinet members are only too eager to emphasise how they raise the issue at every opportunity with their US counterparts.
This amounts to a failure of foreign policy on a number of levels. It is inappropriate for the breaking of one country's law by citizens of another to become the subject of a diplomatic offensive.
The most appropriate way to deal with the issue of illegal/undocumented immigrants is not at state-to-state level, but for civil society organisations in the US to push for change. And all the more so in this case given the openness of the US system to such lobbying and the strength, vibrancy and clout of Irish-American organisations.
The provision of assistance to such organisations by the Irish Government is a more delicate and appropriate means of achieving the goal of regularising those who have made their lives in the US without following the letter of that country's law. Unsubtle pestering and appearing to interfere in the domestic affairs of another sovereign state is decidedly not the correct approach.
The constant raising of the issue of illegal/undocumented Irish immigrants by members of the Cabinet, up to and including the Taoiseach, with US counterparts means that other more important interests do not receive the attention that they would otherwise get.
Influence over the US - the sole superpower - is necessarily finite for any country. Ireland's influence is marginal, given its relative powerlessness and hence its limited ability to assist the US in the pursuit of its interests. As such, whatever influence Ireland has in Washington needs to be wielded with great care and consideration to ensure that the maximum benefit accrues.
The Government's ongoing campaign at the behest of the undocumented lobby also erodes goodwill among members of the US executive and legislature. To be exhorted by a foreign country to ignore one's own laws causes irritation at the very least. To be harangued on the subject of illegal immigration at a time when hostility to immigration is widening and deepening among voters is particularly inopportune and unlikely to endear Ireland to US officials and lawmakers.
Lest there be any doubt about the importance of wielding influence in Washington, let us remember the range of vital interests tied up in the Ireland-US relationship.
First, up to a quarter of a million jobs in the Republic are dependent on US investment - over 100,000 directly, and at least as many indirectly. There are a multitude of issues that require constant attention at Government level to protect and nurture these links, not least the need to mitigate growing US congressional hostility to the corporation tax regime that keeps many US companies in Ireland.
Second, in an EU and international context, there are many signs that economic protectionism is on the rise. Ireland is uniquely vulnerable given its position as a hub in the Atlantic economy. Among the many areas in this regard where influence in Washington is invaluable is EU- US trade disputes. In the past these have resulted in both sides being allowed by the World Trade Organisation to impose punitive sanctions on the other. The decision on the geographic and sectoral spread of such sanctions is open to considerable discretion by the imposing country. To be blunt, quiet lobbying in Washington can help ensure that the effect on Irish jobs is as limited as possible.
Finally, there is the political context. It is a long-term strategic priority to ensure that the US remains engaged with Northern Ireland.
Although relations with Britain are excellent, and it is to be hoped that this happy situation continues, Dublin and London do not always see eye-to-eye on how that troubled place should be dealt with.
As American involvement tends to level the playing field between Ireland and Britain when differences arise, it would be imprudent not to maintain reserves of goodwill. If Americans believe they will receive a browbeating on illegal/undocumented immigrants each time an Irish politician enters their office, doors are less likely to be open if favours are needed on other issues.
One is loath not to offer support to those who seek to better themselves and their families by dint of hard work, and all the more so when they make the sort of sacrifices Irish citizens in the US have made.
But the conduct of foreign policy is designed to maximise the security, prosperity and wellbeing of all citizens. The focus of Irish diplomacy should be on the best interests of Ireland and its four million plus citizens, not on a few thousand who have broken the laws of the most important nation in the world.
Dan O'Brien is a senior editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit