Biden, during his speech in the Irish Parliament. POOL | REUTERS
He becomes the fourth US president to speak before the Irish Parliament, after Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton
13 abr 2023 . Updated at 9:55 p.m.
Peace in Northern Ireland has returned to the center of the agenda of US President Joe Biden. Less than 24 hours after visiting the troubled British province, the tenant of the White House has once again advocated for the reestablishment of the autonomous government of shared power between Republicans and unionists, and has also urged the United Kingdom to work “closer” with the Republic of Ireland to ensure full respect and application of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
“Although it is already a living reality for an entire generation of young people, peace is precious and still needs its champions (…) I believe that the United Kingdom should work more closely with Ireland in this undertaking and never allow political violence to return to settle on this island,” declared the president during the speech he gave this Thursday in Parliament in Dublin.
As he did the day before at the University of Belfast, Biden assured that “peace is essential” for progress and economic growth and reiterated that hundreds of American companies are ready to invest in Northern Ireland, but they do not do so because «the institutions [autonómicas] They’re not working.”
Since February 2022, the Northern Irish Government has been suspended, despite the fact that elections were held in May of that year and were won by the Republican Sinn Féin. The reason? The Protestants of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refuse to co-govern as established in the peace agreements that are celebrating their 25th anniversary these days, in rejection of the conditions that the brexit has imposed on Northern Ireland.
“The greatest peace dividend from the Good Friday Agreement is an entire generation of young people, whose hearts have been formed not by past grievances, but by the confidence that there are no checkpoints for their dreams and that they are writing a new future of unlimited possibilities», He asserted to defend the pacts.
After meeting with Irish President and Prime Minister Michael D. Higgins and Leo Varadkar, Biden became the fourth president of the USA to intervene in the Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament), after John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, all three also with Celtic roots. He began his speech with “I’m at home”, a few words that were answered with a round of applause from the deputies.
Biden took the opportunity to refer to the war in Ukraine and thanked Dublin for its support. And, for this, he quoted his late predecessor in office, John F. Kennedy, who assured: “Ireland has never been neutral between liberty and tyranny, and never will be. Thanks for that”.