There is no sympathy for dissident republican paramilitaries in the Irish-American community, a prominent member of the US Congress said in Dublin today.
Congressman Richard Neal was visiting Dublin as part of a Congressional delegation headed by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Mr Neal, whose grandparents came from counties Down and Kerry, said he had not encountered any support for the dissidents "in years."
The Massachusetts Congressman has a long history of involvement in Northern Ireland issues and chairs the Congressional Friends of Ireland.
Mr Neal, who is a member of the influential Committee of Ways and Means in the House of Representatives, took an upbeat view of the Irish economy.
"It's getting better. Austerity is tough but Ireland's optimism and commitment to education will lift it out of the recession before the rest of Europe."
He attended a breakfast today hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland and visited the headquarters of energy firm EirGrid in Ballsbridge.
During his visit he met Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett and Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte.
He said Americans were not inclined to criticise the Irish property bubble, since there had been similar problems back home.
He was confident US companies would continue to invest in Ireland: "The population here is well-educated."
In the new, high-technology economy, US firms needed to be close to their customers in the European market and Ireland provided a base for that.
He said his broad perspective on the North was "very optimistic" and he found that nobody was suggesting privately, much less publicly, that there was any prospect of a return to violence.
Asked if he was worried about the activities of dissident republicans, he said: "There are always going to be dissident groups."
He acknowledged that, though small in size, these groups were "potentially dangerous".
Commenting on the low level of support for the dissidents in the US, he said: "You would not even know they existed any more."
