Former US president Bill Clinton raised the case of the McCartney sisters during a meeting with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Government Buildings yesterday. Mr Clinton told Mr Ahern about his and his wife Senator Hilary Clinton's concerns about the plight of the family, writes Liam Reid, Political Reporter.
Ms Clinton met the sisters during their visit to the United States in March and was reported to have been very impressed by them.
Mr Clinton was anxious to speak with the Taoiseach about the case yesterday in the context of assisting the McCartneys to move the case forward.
According to a spokeswoman, Mr Ahern assured the former president of the Government's commitment to the McCartneys and that the case was being raised with Sinn Féin at every opportunity.
Both men also discussed the work of the Clinton Foundation, a charity established to promote various development issues.
The Government has committed €50 million to the foundation and has paid more than €15 million to date to the charity.
The Taoiseach was told of one particular initiative where 10,000 people have been given life-saving HIV anti-retroviral drugs in Mozambique. The foundation has also been working on reducing the costs of the drugs and making them more accessible.
Mr Ahern and Mr Clinton also discussed issues surrounding the response to last year's tsunami. Mr Clinton has been appointed as a special envoy by the United States to the affected countries.
The Taoiseach informed Mr Clinton that the Government had committed €20 million to relief efforts and that Irish citizens had donated €75 million to date.
He said former minister of state Chris Flood had been appointed as a special envoy to oversee Irish relief efforts.