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TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS will travel to Washington DC today ahead of his bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
However, before the trip has even begun, there has been a setback, with a reception for invited guests at the White House Rose Garden being “postponed” due to an incoming hurricane.
Hurricane Milton has strengthened to a Category 5 storm as it heads towards landfall in Florida expected on Wednesday.
The Dáil is to begin an hour earlier today so as to facilitate the Taoiseach taking Leaders’ Questions before he catches his flight this afternoon.
Following the meeting at the White House on Wednesday, the Taoiseach and President Biden were due to hold an event to mark the centenary of bilateral diplomatic relations between Ireland and the US.
However, a spokesperson for the Taoiseach said: “President Biden and Taoiseach Simon Harris spoke last night.
“The President asked that they would proceed as planned at the Oval Office on Wednesday but, given the grave threat posed in the United States by Hurricane Milton, they would postpone the reception in the Rose Garden until a later date.
“The Taoiseach will proceed with all other parts of his program in Washington.”
Hurricane Milton has strengthened to a Category 5 storm as it heads towards a possible landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
Biden and Harris were originally scheduled to speak at an event to mark the centenary of bilateral diplomatic relations between Ireland and the US.
The event was also billed as an opportunity to “reflect on President Biden’s career-long friendship with Ireland”.
During his visit to Washington DC, the Taoiseach will also undertake a number of other engagements, including political meetings as well as an event at Georgetown University on Thursday.
This visit will be Harris’s first to the White House as Taoiseach and his first meeting with Biden.
Harris said last week that he plans to raise concerns about the US administration’s ongoing support for Israel, particularly in relation to providing arms for Israeli forces.
Harris insisted Ireland’s foreign policy was consistent, stating:
“The beauty of Irish foreign policy is its consistency. No matter who carries out the offence, whether you’re a big country, whether you’re a small country, we have a consistent approach towards de-escalation, ceasefire, dialogue, peace and respect for the UN and international courts.
“And that’s what I say to every counterpart and leader I meet.”
He said there are “great friendships between Ireland and America that run beyond any individual, including me”.
“There are people getting out of bed this morning and going to work in companies where those jobs have been created by companies in the United States of America and vice versa. Our countries have great, proud diplomatic links.
“I’m proud of the diplomatic relations between Ireland and the United States of America, and I believe the overwhelming majority of people in this country are too. I’m also proud of the tradition of taoisigh and presidents being able to engage on issues too.
“But you also speak the truth to your friends. And Ireland’s never afraid to speak our view. And I’m not afraid of that either. We speak the truth. We speak up for our foreign policy.
“We have an independent foreign policy, and our independent foreign policy is very clear in relation to what should happen in the Middle East,” said the Taoiseach.
There has been a marked escalation in the violence in the Middle East since Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was in Washington DC in March.
Significant pressure was placed on Varadkar to raise concerns about Gaza and the US support for Israel through the delivery of arms.
Varadkar raised the issue of Gaza in the Oval Office meeting, but the Taoiseach was quick to tell the media afterwards that Biden made it clear to him that the US would continue to supply weapons to Israel.
All eyes will be on Harris this week to see if he delivers a similar message to the president in the Oval Office this week. It should be noted that Varadkar made such remarks in the knowledge that he had planned to step away from his role as Taoiseach upon his return to Ireland.
Harris is in a different position, instead facing towards a general election, when all his actions and words will be heavily scrutisined
The March visit was the subject of much criticism, as some politicians called on then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to boycott the White House over the United States’ response to the war in Gaza.
Political Editor Christina Finn will be in Washington DC to bring you all the latest from the week’s events.
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Cant wait for Decembers Budget. More cuts and tax hikes to be made. Then you will see people moaning. I hope the people who voted yes are proud of themselves. Unpatriotic fools.
Well said!
Whereas if the treaty was rejected, a load of money would magically appear, as if from nowhere… Really?
@Irish patriot, I am very proud of the fact that I voted yes. You could be right, it may have been foolish, but at least I use my real name when posting, and don’t use some self-righteous pseudonym.
So you think the next budget wouldn’t have been harsh if t he No vote had won? Newsflash: we are in the crapper, financially, and harsh budgets are going to be a sad feature of Irish life for another few years. The treaty was about imposing rules on our feckless politicians to stop them running up any more stupid deficits. Whether Yes or No, the result of this referendum was never going to magic our debt away.
Donacha you are the worst kind of fool too stupid to understand How goosed you are
@Irish Patriot
Why don’t you aim your anger at the lazy arseholes that didn’t bother to vote? Why are you aiming your anger at the “yes” people? They voted, they voted to the best of their ability and conscious just like you! Don’t be so arrogant and assume that the “no” side is right. To be honest nobody knows and didn’t know really, honestly, how to vote. But at the same time, we our democratic right gave us the chance to vote …. and we did, the lazy arsehole didn’t! Blame them.
Don’t call me an unpatriotic fool, or the other 60% who voted Yes. Morons like you are typical of the no vote fanatics who had nothing better to do than to ‘spread their message’ on the journal comments section. Party is over now – get back in your box instead of wishing a harsh budget on your countrymen and women because the majority voted yes
Buckwheat
Irish Patriot is telling the truth there will be a harsh budget for everyone in this country in December.
how do you get a job at these count centers? where do i apply for the next one? i hear the money is good!
What ever the out come is an embarrassment for for the Government they may have got their yes vote but the poor turn out speaks volumes . The people have spoken in more ways the one…
First time I’ve seen Joe Higgins smile in years!
minister for employment..watching f*****g employment! Should be minister of overseeing our young emigrate.
Caption on the first picture there is wrong. Lucinda Creighton is on the left (visually speaking) and the other person in the picture is Kevin Humphries, Labour TD for Dublin South East.
I’m one of the lazy arseholes that didn’t vote…..I don’t live in Ireland at the moment
6 billion of cuts in the budget while we handed 2.5 billion to bond holders last werk. Brilliant.
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