    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [March 17, 2008]
    [Pages 382-383]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland
    March 17, 2008

        President Bush. Taoiseach, welcome, and happy Saint Patrick's Day.
    It's always a joy to welcome the Taoiseach here to the Oval Office. And
    it's a reminder of the unbelievably powerful influence the Irish have
    had on the development and prosperity of the United States of America.
    We're a richer country because of Irish Americans. And, Mr. Prime
    Minister, Ireland is a great friend and ally, and I want to thank you
    for your friendship over these years.
        We discussed a variety of issues. In particular, we talked about
    Northern Ireland. And the Taoiseach gets a lot of credit for showing a
    steady hand during a difficult period. And yet as a result of
    perseverance and hard work, Northern Ireland is a different place than
    it was last year. And we congratulate the leaders there. And I just want
    the folks to know, what I told the Taoiseach is true, that the United
    States will continue to stay engaged and will be very supportive of
    helping the process move forward.
        And there's more work to be done, we fully understand, in Northern
    Ireland. But also, there's a really interesting chance for people from
    our country to see the investment opportunities available in Northern
    Ireland. And this May, there's a Northern Ireland investment conference,
    which the United States will strongly support. And, Taoiseach, like I
    told you, we'll send a strong delegation to look at the opportunities
    available there.

    [[Page 383]]

        So thanks for coming. Thanks for your friendship. And once again,
    happy Saint Patrick's Day.
        Prime Minister Ahern. Thank you very much, President. And I want to
    thank the President. It's the eighth year that he's afforded us an
    opportunity of representing the Irish people here. And as always, we've
    had a very fruitful discussion on a range of issues, and obviously
    important to me is the ongoing process in Northern Ireland. And the
    President and his people have been really helpful and--as we move now to
    the remaining issue, the evolution of policing, which we've discussed.
        And the investment conference, which is just around the corner--it's
    a--I've said it several times before: The investment conference is a--
    really a one-off chance, an opportunity for Northern Ireland to bring
    some of the big investors of the world to see the opportunities that are
    there, the opportunities that they had not had a chance of being able to
    get any benefit from for the last 30 or 40 years. And now they have
    that. And I think the--it will show Northern Ireland is a place with
    well-educated people, hard-working people, people who are good at
    business if given a half a chance.
        And it is hugely important to us that in the organization of this,
    that the President has helped both the British Government and the Irish
    Government to get this together. We've gone through that today, and I
    think the--[inaudible]--of the President to make sure that there's a
    high-powered delegation to United States is hugely helpful. I want to
    thank the President for that.
        And I also want to thank him for the assistance that he's given to
    us on a range of issues that we've had an opportunity of talking about.
        President Bush. Thank you, Bertie. Thanks for coming. Thank you all
    very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House.