Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin: No visa remedy in sight

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Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin

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On Monday, September 27, Martin delivered Ireland’s annual address to the UN General Assembly in New York.

Martin outlined Ireland’s foreign policy priorities and discussed international issues of concern for the next year.

Martin said, "The United Nations offers a unique voice and an indispensable framework for the international community which we should cherish and continually work to improve, so as to realize its full potential.

"Ireland, for its part, will continue to look to the United Nations as best placed to lead the drive for more effective multilateralism, as well as for guiding all our common endeavors in pursuit of a more peaceful, prosperous and secure world."

During his U.N. visits Martin also held talks with Ireland’s key trading partners and governments, which share the same views on world affairs.

He also spoke at two major disarmament conferences and conducted a round of bilateral meetings with ministerial colleagues from around the globe and attended a number of strategic groups with E.U. counterparts.

The second major prong of his visit was with the Irish community.

“I had interesting discussions with the immigration centers about various issues and asked the questions, ‘Are there young people coming out? What are the problems they are facing?’ We discovered that now issues people are facing are around welfare and are more complex and demand more time,” Martin told the press.

Martin said the Farmleigh Global Irish Economic Forum that took place in Dublin last year has “broadened the anchors” of the relationship between Ireland and the U.S.

Farmleigh is a government wide initiative managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs in close cooperation with a number of other government departments and state agencies.

Martin described Farmleigh as a “resounding success”.

“Both governments are working side by side to develop more targeting of resources and development issues,” he said.

“We’ve now set up the global Irish networks throughout the world,” he said. “I’ve held meetings in Shanghai where extraordinaire talented people have come to the floor to say, ‘We want to help Ireland. We want to use our contacts and our networks and also our ideas and talents to advise Ireland on how to move forward.

“We have set up networks in Munich, Berlin, Paris and London, and in November we are hosting an American Global Irish Network out here, a Farmleigh event serving North America and Canada.”

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