Taoiseach should give Trump copy of ‘Rights of Man,’ Ryan says

Taoiseach Enda Kenny should present a copy of Rights of Man by Thomas Paine with a symbol of a shamrock on top to US president Donald Trump when he visits him at the White House, the Dáil has heard.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said "it cannot just be business as usual" and the Taoiseach should not present the traditional bowl of shamrock to the US president.

He did not believe the Taoiseach should meet Mr Trump, but he accepted that he was going and insisted things should be done differently.

Mr Ryan said the bowl of shamrock should be laid at the grave of US president John F Kennedy or at the Lincoln memorial which honours US president Abraham Lincoln.

Ten things you need to know about tribunals of inquiry

---

Tánaiste and O’Callaghan’s dispute over Tusla comments continues

---

Ministers seek to stem backbench revolt against Enda Kenny

---

Government fails to deal with whistleblower affair

---

The Dublin Bay South TD was speaking during a delayed debate on the US president’s executive order on immigration, which banned citizens from seven countries entering the US, before it was halted in the US courts.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin repeated his concern about the Taoiseach's visit and said that while many other countries were envious of Ireland's annual meeting with the US administration but he said "it's not the only thing of value".

Ireland is an open, tolerant nation and Mr Trump did not have those values.

“Our Taoiseach should not present himself in the Oval office or west wing of the White House to be humiliated, the way Theresa May was holding hands at a formal endorsement of Trump policies.”

He said “we should not see the undocumented Irish as hostages”.

He said the Government should not have to “kow tow” and should not operate on the basis that “their situation would not be advanced without obeisance”.

He added that the Taoiseach’s visit would be legitimising Mr Trump as some sort of normal president.

“We must resist his political agenda.”

AAA-PBP TD Ruth Coppinger said "we saw the Taoiseach being humiliated in the Dáil yesterday. I wouldn't trust him to handle Trump and escape unscathed."

‘I hate everything about Trump’

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy expressed her disappointment that the Dáil had not agreed a motion that would sent a united message from the House to the US.

“It’s a missed opportunity not to have passed that motion,” she added.

She said she wanted to put on record that “I hate everything about Trump, but he was elected and that’s the way it will be for the next four years whether we like it or not”.

She said “I feel the Taoiseach is not a match for him and certainly I wouldn’t have confidence in a message that is strong enough being delivered.”

She said it would have been far better to have a united motion from the Dáil than “to trust the judgment of the Taoiseach to go and represent the views of t his country”.

She added that the Taoiseach should make it very clear in advance of his trip to the US “exactly what he is going to say and how he is going to represent us”.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said Ireland could only articulate its concerns and seek to advance the interests of Irish citizens by continuing to engage with policy-makers in the US.

He insisted that it was “the bottom line” .

Mr Flanagan said that whether it was dealing with that executive order or the need to deal with immigration reform, they needed to continue to engage with policy makers in the US.

The minister stressed that Irish citizens who are dual nationals of any of the seven countries listed in the executive order, “have the same rights to avail of the US visa waiver programme as all other Irish citizens”.

Mr Flanagan said about 8,000 current Irish passport holders were born in one of the seven countries the executive order applied to before it was halted in the US courts - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The minister also stressed that the St Patrick’s day events in Washington “provide invaluable opportunities for the Government to discuss at the very highest levels with the US administration, our priorities and concerns”.

He highlighted his engagement with former US national security advisor Mike Flynn whom he met in the US in January and highlighted the “damaging consequences of these measures in humanitarian terms as well as the impact on the international reputation of the US”.

Pointing to calls for the Government to end pre-clearance at Irish airports for passengers to the US, Mr Flanagan said Shannon was the first airport in the world outside the Americas to offer a US pre-clearance facility and over 204,000 passengers used the facility in 2016 at Shannon.

He said the pre-clearance facility “is a key component of Ireland’s continued competitiveness in attracting US foreign direct investment”.

Mr Flanagan stressed that “as a Government we have a responsibility to protect and advance the interests of our country and our people”.

Fianna Fáil foreign affairs spokesman Darragh O’Brien commended the Government’s response to the executive order as “well handled and considered”.

Sinn Féin TD foreign affairs spokesman Sean Crowe said the Taoiseach as visit could not be “business as usual” and Mr Kenny should strongly assert Ireland’s views on tolerance and inclusion and should represent the undocumented Irish.