Over 200 US legislators in Dublin to meet with Irish parliamentarians and Ministers

Delegation including state and national legislators will meet Martin and McGrath on Friday

Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey (centre right) with members of the American Irish State Legislator Caucus during an earlier visit to Stormont on Thursday. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey (centre right) with members of the American Irish State Legislator Caucus during an earlier visit to Stormont on Thursday. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

The largest ever meeting in Ireland of American national and State politicians will take place in Leinster House on Friday.

Over 200 legislators from across the 50 states will convene in the Dáil chamber on Friday for a private meeting members of the Oireachtas.

The group will be addressed by Minister for Finance Michael McGrath who will outline the current economic situation in Ireland, speak about the strong economic, political and cultural ties between two countries, and set out the outlook for the economy.

The delegation includes four US Senators and 12 Members of the US House of Representatives. During the three-day trip, the legislators have also visited Stormont Castle where they met representatives of the five main parties in Northern Ireland.

READ SOME MORE

On Friday they will also meet Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, who is expected to brief the delegation on the peace process and the ongoing suspension of the institutions in Northern Ireland.

All of the US politicians are members of the American Irish State Legislator Caucus and they are being hosted in Ireland by the members of the Oireachtas United States Parliamentary Friendship group, which is convened by Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe.

Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly, the Oireachtas’s Liaison to the US State Legislature, was the organiser of the trip.

The overall focus will be on economic relations between Ireland and the US, the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, and ongoing US support for the peace process.

Harry McGee

Harry McGee

Harry McGee is a Political Correspondent with The Irish Times