Ahern urges Bush to help illegal Irish workers

PRESIDENT George W Bush was today being urged to ease the plight of up to 50,000 illegal Irish immigrants in the US as Bertie Ahern visited the White House.

The Taoiseach was raising the matter as he arrived in Washington DC for the annual St Patrick’s Day shamrock presentation in the Oval Office.

The move came as Senator Hillary Clinton’s role in the Northern peace process again led to bitter exchanges with her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination Barack Obama.

Ms Clinton pledged to visit the Republic and keep a keen interest in the Northern situation as she campaigned in Pennsylvania, a strongly Irish-American state that holds its primary on April 22.

She pledged to “regularise” the status of the between 25,000-50,000 illegal Irish if she is elected president.

Mr Ahern also spoke of the need for reform as he attended an Irish-American dinner in Scranton, Pennsylvania, before flying on to Washington.

“We remain deeply aware that there are Irish people in this country who are undocumented and who are not free to enjoy the freedom and promise of this great land.

“Though their numbers are relatively small, their situation remains of deep concern to us in Ireland.

“I am grateful for the very positive engagement by President Bush on this issue, and I look forward to reviewing matters with him, as well as with our friends on Capitol Hill,” he said.

Mr Ahern said trade would also feature heavily in his talks with Mr Bush as US firms invest more in Ireland than they do in the whole of South America. American companies support 95,000 jobs in Ireland, and Irish firms employ 80,000 people in the US, said Mr Ahern. The Taoiseach stressed investment in the North was vital to sustain the peace process.

Ms Clinton backed the call as sheaccused her rival of “nitpicking” over her record on the peace process while her husband Bill was president.

“I actually went to Belfast more than Bill did as part of what I was doing to help the process. Just this week I was called to meet with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which I do on a regular basis, to get an update about where the process is now.

“I understand the desire of my opponent to try to nitpick and bring people out to say things, but I think the record is very clear. I don’t know how many times Senator Obama has met with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,” she said.

Mr Obama said Ms Clinton had inflated her role in the north.

“It is a gross overstatement of the facts for her to claim even partial credit for bringing peace to Northern Ireland,” said a spokesperson.