Former Congressman Bruce Morrison, while in Ireland to speak at an Irish diaspora conference in early November hosted by University College Dublin and Irish America magazine, met with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen to discuss various topics including but not limited to the Irish economy, issues pertaining to Northern Ireland and the matter of legal immigration to both the U.S. and Ireland.
Speaking to the Irish Voice, Morrison said his meeting with Cowen, which took place on Monday, November 10, was very successful.
"I had a far ranging meeting with the taoiseach over a number of subjects," he said.
The meeting between Cowen and Morrison took place a week before an agreement was reached to resume the Assembly and Executive in Northern Ireland.
"My impression from that meeting was that while the situation in Northern Ireland seemed very bleak from the outside, that the Irish government was engaged in a positive way and making a significant contribution to what was finally achieved," said Morrison.
Morrison and Cowen discussed in detail the issues affecting the Irish economy. "The economy is the most pressing issue on his (Cowen) plate at the moment. I think the media might present him as beleaguered, but that is not the face he showed to me," said Morrison.
"Determined would be the face I would see in how he looked at these economic problems, and I think he is hopeful that given a little bit of time that some of the measures they have taken and some more of the measures that have to be taken will start to turn around in 2009, which will elevate both the political and economic problems that they are facing at the moment."
Morrison, who spoke at length at the Irish diaspora conference about the importance of legal immigration to Ireland, also had the opportunity to discuss the same issue with Cowen.
"We spoke about how the Irish government must have a more appropriate policy towards their own immigration. The taoiseach agreed and said it's an import issue to follow-up on," said Morrison.
Staying on the issue of immigration, the former congressman, who was responsible for obtaining the Morrison visas back in the late eighties, said he had a lengthy discussion with Cowen on the issue.
"First of all, the commitment to work on the problem of the undocumented that he expressed when he came to New York in the summer remains his very clear intention and priority. He no way thinks the J-visa program is a substitute for doing something far more reaching, and we talked about the limitations of the program both in terms of who it will serve and in terms of the fact that it is only a year and does not lead to anything," said Morrison.
"There really is a need for future flow to be addressed, and we talked about an E-3 type visa for Ireland and the way that could either in the first instance or over time turn into a vehicle to legalizing the Irish undocumented through a process of waivers that would really be workable."
Cowen expressed his feeling to Morrison that immigration to and from Ireland is part of a broader economic and social relations issue between the two countries.
"He agrees that it should never be divorced from that, and Ireland should never be shy to ask for immigration provisions in service of that relationship," said Morrison.
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