February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
“This is his first formal visit to the U.S. as party leader,” said a Fine Gael spokesman.
“He will establish contacts in the states in anticipation of a future election,” the spokesman added.
Kenny will meet with U.S. Special envoy to Northern Ireland, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, at the State Department on Wednesday.
He will also meet with former party leader John Bruton, now the EU Ambassador to the U.S.
Aides said the two men will discuss, among other issues, the current crisis over ratification of the EU Constitution.
Fine Gael supports the Irish government decision to hold a referendum in Ireland, even after the rejection by France and the Netherlands of the constitution.
Kenny will also have meetings on Capitol Hill with senators Edward Kennedy, Hillary Rodham Clinton and others. Immigration reform is one item that will be covered in these sessions.
Kenny could find himself bumping into several other members of the Dail who will also be in Washington this week.
Members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs are in the nation’s capital to examine concerns relating to the thousands of undocumented Irish in the country.
Like Kenny, they too will have meetings with Kennedy, Rodham Clinton and other congressional leaders on the immigration issue.