[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 55 (Wednesday, May 6, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E773-E774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        VISIT OF MEMBERS OF THE IRISH DAIL TO THE U.S. CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 6, 1998

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, last night at the Library of the Congress 
both you and I were honored to welcome members of the Irish Dail here 
to the Congress, as we opened the second session of the Irish American 
Inter-parliamentary exchange, you so wisely reinitiated two years ago.
  The relations between Ireland and its warm and generous people and 
our great nation are long, historic and very close. The remarks of the 
Speaker of the Dail, the Ceann Comhairle Seamus Pattison of Kilkenny 
which were delivered at the Library were particularly important, and 
best summarize this long and very important relationship between 
Ireland and the United States.
  At this important moment in Irish history, I believe my colleagues 
would be particularly interested in the Speaker of the Dail's comments 
on the U.S./Ireland relationship, and I insert his full and important 
remarks for the Record.

Remarks by Mr. Seamus Pattison, T.D., Ceann Comhairle at Dinner Hosted 
      by Mr. Newt Gingrich, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives

       Mr. Speaker, Ambassador OhUiginn, parliamentary colleagues 
     both Irish and American, friends.
       I am delighted to respond to your kind remarks and would 
     wish, at the outset, to thank you most sincerely for hosting 
     this dinner in honour of the visit by Irish Parliamentarians. 
     It is a great honour to have dinner here at the Library of 
     Congress and I would like if I may introduce the other 
     members of the delegation: Mr. Desmond J. O'Malley, T.D., 
     Chairman, Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Michael P. 
     Kitt, T.D., Mr. Michael Noonan, T.D., Mr. Alan Shatter, T.D., 
     Mr. Matt Brennan, T.D., Mr. Dinny McGinley, T.D., Dr. Pat 
     Upton, T.D., Mr. Brendan Smith, T.D., and Mr. Thomas Gildea, 
     T.D.
       As you know Mr. Speaker, official contacts between the 
     Oireachtas and the U.S. Congress were put on a more formal 
     footing in the early 1980s. The Friends of Ireland group was 
     established in Congress in 1981 and the Ireland/United States 
     Parliamentary Group in the Houses of the Oireachtas in 1983. 
     Under the auspices of those groups a number of exchange 
     visits took place with delegations from the Friends of 
     Ireland visiting Dublin in 1982 and 1985, with Irish 
     delegations visiting here in 1983 and 1985. Official links 
     between the two groups lapsed, however, by the mid 1980s but 
     contacts did continue on a more informal basis. The question 
     of re-establishing these links were raised on a number of 
     occasions in the early 1990s. My predecessor Sean Treacy 
     raised the issue with you Mr. Speaker leading to a 
     congressional delegation visiting Ireland in February 1997 to 
     confirm our Parliament's interest in reviving formal links.
       The formal announcement of the re-launch of the Ireland-
     U.S. Inter Parliamentary Group was made by you at the St. 
     Patrick's Day lunch in honour of the then Taoiseach John 
     Bruton. We in Ireland were delighted to hear that you had 
     asked two very distinguished Congressmen Ben Gilman and Jim 
     Walsh to co-chair the U.S. side. I want to pay a very special 
     tribute to both of them whom I got to know during the very 
     successful visit to Ireland in November last year for the 
     work they have put into the work of the group since its re-
     launch last year. I look forward to co-chairing the first 
     session of our meetings tomorrow when we discuss the Irish 
     peace process.
       The people of Ireland deeply appreciate the tireless 
     efforts of both the Friends of Ireland and the Ad Hoc 
     Committee on Irish Affairs to bring about a just and lasting 
     peace in Northern Ireland. As Speaker of the Irish House of 
     Representatives and on behalf of the delegation I too wish to 
     express my appreciation for those efforts which has led to 
     the Good Friday peace agreement. The agreement offers a truly 
     historic opportunity for a new beginning within Northern 
     Ireland. It is balanced fair and comprehensive. All parties 
     will find aspects to their liking but will have difficulties 
     with others. However, the reality is that people on the 
     island of Ireland want peace. It is my belief that the 
     requirements of the people have been met and it is my 
     expressed hope that confirmation of this will be a resounding 
     yes vote in the referenda being held on 22 May.
       During the current peace process we have had enormous 
     encouragement and goodwill not only from the international 
     community but especially so from the United States. President 
     Clinton and his administration has taken a deep personal 
     interest in the search for a lasting and just peace in 
     Northern Ireland. That commitment was demonstrated through 
     his visit to Belfast in November 1995. He was the first 
     sitting U.S. President to undertake such a visit.
       Congress too has played a very important part. A number of 
     those leading Congressmen I have referred to earlier but I 
     also want to include the other co-chairmen of the Ad Hoc, 
     Peter King, Richard Neal and Tom Manton and many others who 
     have been good friends to Ireland and have been active on a 
     range of political and economic issues over the years. 
     Senator Ted Kennedy too has been a true friend of Ireland and 
     I look forward to meeting with him on Thursday morning. I 
     cannot emphasize enough the key role played by Senator George 
     Mitchell, the independent chairman of the talks whose 
     patience and dedication helped to bring the talks to their 
     successful conclusion.
       I also want to mention, Mr. Speaker, how much we value your 
     own personal interest and support. I know that your concern 
     is year round, but your generous hospitality in hosting the 
     annual St. Patrick's Day Speaker's lunch on Capitol Hill has 
     been especially welcome. The event in recent years has 
     brought together the main political leaders from north and 
     south. There is no doubt that the opportunity for dialogue 
     which this year's Washington programme afforded the political 
     leaders greatly helped in laying the ground work for their 
     eventual historic agreement on Good Friday.

[[Page E774]]

       I look forward to meeting with you when you visit Ireland 
     next summer. I can assure you of a hearty cead mile failte, 
     and repaying the generous hospitality you have offered to us 
     this evening.
       On the day the talks were concluded (Good Friday) I was 
     attending the spring conference of the Inter Parliamentary 
     Union in Namibia. I was delighted to receive the best wishes 
     from international parliamentarians on the successful outcome 
     of the talks. It was pleasing that during the conference the 
     Inter Parliamentary Council congratulated all concerned on 
     the outcome of the talks and a letter expressing those 
     congratulations, signed by the president of the council, 
     Senor Miguel Angel Martinez of Spain, was forwarded by me to 
     the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
       As Irish politicians, it encourages us greatly to know that 
     we can count on U.S. support. The two groups in Congress with 
     a strong interest in Ireland--the Friends of Ireland and the 
     Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs demonstrates to us the 
     interest of the United States to hearing of the happenings in 
     Ireland. One of the practical ways in which this is shown by 
     Congress is through the support for the International Fund 
     for Ireland. Your desire to address the economic impact of 
     the troubles through voting each year economic assistance to 
     the fund assists its efforts to bring economic hope to the 
     most disadvantaged areas. Since its inception the fund has 
     supported in excess of 3,400 individual projects involving 
     expenditure of over $350m. These projects have helped to 
     create in excess of 29,000 jobs. Total investment related to 
     expenditure to the fund amounts to over $900m as public and 
     private sectors sources also contribute to the fund. The 
     delegation visiting Ireland last year availed of the 
     opportunity to visit some of the projects which have been 
     assisted by the fund.
       We in Ireland identify with the success of our Emigrant 
     communities around the world but especially here in the 
     United States where, I believe, some 44 million claim some 
     Irish ancestry. It is hardly surprising therefore that many 
     of the households in Ireland have American cousins. Our 
     emigrants here in the United States have played a huge role 
     in making it the most powerful nation in the world. We in 
     Ireland owe a great deal of gratitude to countries like 
     America. Just over one hundred and fifty years ago, the Great 
     Irish famine was at its worst. Ireland was devastated as over 
     one million people died of starvation with another one 
     million emigrating in its immediate aftermath. The majority 
     of those emigrating came to the United States in conditions 
     of incredible hardship with nothing to sustain them when they 
     got there, except a willingness for hard work and an 
     overwhelming desire to succeed. Most Americans can identify 
     with the quintessential story of the emigrant. The U.S. has 
     continued to provide a home from home for Irish people ever 
     since those dark days of famine.
       In more recent years the United States has become the 
     adopted home for many of our young emigrants. We are 
     particularly grateful for the role played by our friends in 
     Congress in securing visas for them under the Donnelly, 
     Morrison and Schumer Schemes. As our economy has bounded 
     ahead in recent years, the nature of emigration has changed. 
     Many of our emigrants now return home to Ireland bringing 
     vital skills learned in America, having made a real 
     contribution while they are here. We know these are difficult 
     issues, but we strongly urge you, in both our interests, to 
     continue to make provision for our young people to come to 
     the U.S. and to learn the American way.
       The strong presence of foreign investment has been one of 
     the keys to our recent economy success. Therefore it goes 
     without saying that the United States, with over 500 
     companies, is the largest single investor in Ireland and has 
     played a critical role in the growth of our economy. These 
     U.S. firms are not coming to Ireland out of altruism. They 
     are coming for a variety of reasons, not least of which is 
     that, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Ireland 
     is the most profitable location for U.S. investment in 
     Europe.
       A number of U.S. companies have announced several major 
     projects in job creation--Boston Scientific Expansion plans 
     of 40m with over 2,050 jobs being created, Oxford Health 
     Plans--500 jobs in insurance claims processing, Bausch and 
     Lomb--650 jobs and Hewlett Packard's announcement of a second 
     investment at its Leixlip plant with an expected 2,000 
     employees by 1997 to mention but a few.
       While there are no official figures available on the value 
     of Irish investment in the U.S., several of our major Irish 
     companies including Smurfit, Masstock, James Crean, Bank of 
     Ireland, AIB, Kerry Group, Avonmore and Bord Bainne have 
     already acquired substantial interests here.
       There are a myraid of historical connections that bind our 
     two countries. One of the areas that stands out is our common 
     interest in the democratic process and politics in general. 
     Irishman and women have distinguished themselves right across 
     the U.S. in Federal, State and local politics. As you know a 
     number of Irishmen were signatories to the Declaration of 
     Independence. I have earlier referred to Senator Ted Kennedy 
     whose great-grandfather came from New Ross which is located 
     just a stone's through from my own constituency of Carlow-
     Kilenny, a constituency I have had the honour of 
     representating for nearly 37 years. I am therefore the only 
     sitting member who was present in the House to hear the 
     addresses of the 3 American presidents during joint sittings 
     of the Houses of the Oireachtas--President John F. Kennedy 
     was the first distinguished guest to address the Houses when 
     he visited Ireland in 1963, President Reagan did so in 1984 
     and more recently we had the address of President Clinton.
       I am looking forward to our working sessions here in 
     Washington over the next few days. It may be that we may only 
     manage to scratch the surface on a number of issues but we 
     will try to cover as much ground as possible. I wish all the 
     participants in the sessions every good wish.
       I will conclude now Mr. Speaker by thanking you once again 
     for hosting this dinner in our honour. It has been a 
     privilege to meet with you and to discuss with you matters of 
     mutual interest.
       I would ask you all to raise your glass to the continued 
     success of Ireland/U.S. parliamentary friendship.

     

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