TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has said he hopes to make progress on securing a new visa agreement with the United States during his visit there for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Mr Cowen favours a new deal that would see thousands of workers travel freely between the two countries for two years. A similar arrangement between the US and Australia sees up to 10,000 visas issued every year.
Speaking separately in an interview with The Irish Timeson the eve of his meeting with president Barack Obama at the White House tomorrow, Mr Cowen said he is confident the new US administration will not adopt policies detrimental to Ireland. He said contacts had already been made with leading figures in the US to stress Irish concerns.
“It is early days in his administration and our people are in contact with his administration and people on . . . Hill to ensure that, whatever policy initiatives they have in mind, that they can be implemented in a way that brings mutual benefit, in a win:win situation, for everybody,” said Mr Cowen.
“Certainly, from our point of view, I believe we are dealing with an administration that will look at the objective facts of the situation and see that Ireland has been good for US business. Ireland has been a great place for US business to locate and obviously we have received great benefit too, so these are matters for discussion. I will obviously be very interested to hear first-hand his views on these matters,” said the Taoiseach.
He was commenting on reports Mr Obama’s policies on the tax status of US companies abroad and his job creation policies at home could lead to protectionism and withdrawal of American investment from Ireland.
“I don’t believe this is a president who sees protectionism as the solution to the problem. It was protectionism in the 1930s that prolonged the depression but, obviously, and quite rightly from his point of view, he emphasises the need for American companies to invest in their own country, as well as abroad, and we understand that totally,” said Mr Cowen. “ . . . I also believe that there is a recognition in America, as elsewhere, that we do live in a globalised environment, that business is internationalised, that free trade is the best means by which world growth can be achieved.”
The Taoiseach added he was hoping to get a good insight from Mr Obama into how he sees things developing in the year ahead.
Referring to the visa deal the Government hopes to agree with the US administration, Mr Cowen told RTÉ last night: “We would like to get the model that the Australians obtained in different times, where people from both countries could come for a more prolonged period, work and enjoy each other’s culture and understanding of how life is lived.”