Barack Obama:
This morning, I spoke by phone with the Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, to wish him a Happy St. Patrick's Day and to reiterate my strong commitment that my Administration will be a good friend of Ireland and Northern Ireland. I congratulated the Taoiseach on the tremendous progress made in Northern Ireland over the past year with the establishment of the Assembly and the Executive. We discussed the outlook for the future of Northern Ireland and I raised the issue of the devolution of justice, which I hope will occur very soon. As I said over a year ago, I will personally engage on issues involving the island of Ireland where America can play a constructive role, working closely with the Taoiseach, Prime Minister Brown, and party leaders in Northern Ireland.I asked the Taoiseach about the impact that the slowdown of the US economy is having on Ireland, since I am aware that the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland just revised its forecast on Ireland's economic growth down to 1.6% this year. In addition to our shared heritage and shared values, our countries have strong economic ties. The presence of US companies in Ireland helped create the Celtic Tiger, and Ireland's success has had a positive impact on our own economy, with Irish companies creating tens of thousands of jobs in the US and the Irish being large investors in the US economy. I have also seen the enormous contributions that Irish immigrants have made to America, and am committed to pursuing immigration policies that keep open the doors of opportunity in this country. That is why I was proud to stand with Senator Kennedy in crafting, fighting for and marching for comprehensive immigration legislation.I was delighted to learn, earlier this year, that my ancestors on my mother's side of the family were Irish. My ancestors came from County Offaly in Ireland. Knowing that Tanaiste Brian Cowen is also from Offaly, and knowing that he was elected to the Irish parliament with the highest number of votes, I said I am hoping for the luck of that particular Irishman in this election.
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