TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has said he will raise the issue of Donald Trump’s new travel ban with the US president when he is in Washington next week.
Trump’s revised travel ban will come into effect on 16 March, the same day Kenny is scheduled to meet Trump in the White House.
The US President signed a revised executive order on Monday banning entry visas from six Muslim-majority countries: Libya, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
When asked by TheJournal.ie if he would be raising it as a matter of concern, he replied:
Obviously I will speak to both the president and vice president about that when I am there next week.
Revised ban
The US president initially introduced the wide-ranging travel ban on 27 January for the six countries plus Iraq, but the order was blocked by judges within weeks.
The revised ban says that the six countries were targeted because their screening and information capabilities could not meet US security requirements.
The previous ban was enforced immediately and it caused travel chaos at US airport and numerous travellers being stuck in limbo.
Kenny made the comments this morning at the launch of the government’s new trade strategy at Dublin Port.
Cabinet reshuffle
At the same press conference, Minister for Transport Shane Ross, who is one of the only members of government not travelling abroad for the St Patrick’s Day festivities, said he will miss his Cabinet colleagues while they are away on their “very important” trips.
Ross joked that he planned to make some changes while the Taoiseach is out-of-town.
Top of his list is a Cabinet reshuffle, he said, where he plans to put Junior Minister John Halligan into Health.
Joking aside, the Taoiseach spoke about the possible policy changes by the US administration and their impact on Irish trade.
He said the US bilateral agreement on trade is a “top priority” for the country, but said the government had to be cognisant of any changes introduced by President Trump.
Tax rate
The Taoiseach said Ireland’s corporate tax rate is a matter for the Irish government, just as the US rate is a matter for their own administration.
Last week, during his first Congressional address, Trump indicated there would be a large cut in its corporate tax rate.
Kenny said there is no threat to US companies pulling out of Ireland, despite Trump threatening to impose heavy taxes on American companies that move jobs overseas.
“Speaking to one chief executive last week, who is planning a major expansion here, when I asked him what is the president’s view about this, he said, ‘well, he mightn’t be too pleased about it, but we are investing heavily in the United States too.”
As well as visiting Washington, Kenny is scheduled to visit Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Rhode Island next week.
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