Ambassador of Ireland Noel Fahey Ireland Rides Out Its Ups and Downs by Sean OíDriscoll Irish ambassador Noel Fahey is in a good mood. Newly released statistics put Irelandís inflation rate at its lowest level in three years. This morningís figures are a big improvement over the late 1990s, when inflation threatened to derail Irelandís booming economy. There is also news from Ireland that all athletes from countries infected by sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) who were hoping to compete in the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin have been cleared to travel. The issue became a major debating point in Ireland, particularly because the games are the largest sporting event the country has ever hosted, with 35,000 volunteers preparing for the arrival of more than 7,000 athletes and their delegations. It marks the first time the games have been held outside the United States, and there have been frantic efforts to resolve the issue, mostly by the Irish government and Timothy Shriver, president and chief executive officer of the Special Olympics and a nephew of President John F. Kennedy. ìIím very glad that the athletes are coming. Itís a huge relief,î said the ambassador, relaxing in his residence near Dupont Circle as news came through that Taiwan, the last of the Asian countries in question, would be granted visas for the games. The SARS risk, Fahey says, required a lot of diplomacy. ìA great deal of work has been done by the Taoiseach [the Irish prime minister], the minister for health, by Tim Shriver from the Special Olympics. It has been difficult. Itís not an easy issue,î he says. ìWeíre very relieved weíll have everybody there because the issue was detracting from the importance of the games.î With the number of U.S. tourists coming to Ireland increasing, inflation down, and the Special Olympians cleared to travel all in the same week, there is much for Irish diplomats to be happy about. But on the Northern Ireland front, things could be better for Dublin, especially since Londonís decision to twice postpone elections for the Northern Ireland assembly, a Parliament that fell apart in acrimony late last year. The Northern Ireland Parliament and power-sharing government collapsed in October after allegations that some Sinn Fein officials had organized a spy ring within the government and were passing on information to the partyís paramilitary wing, the Irish Republican Army (IRA). As a result, the elections to restart the Parliament have been delayed until fallóto the protests of Northern Irelandís Catholic population, as well as the Irish government and Irish-American politicians. Several members of the U.S. Congress, prompted by their constituents, have raised their concerns with the State Department, while others have protested directly to the British government. The Irish government, Fahey says, is sympathetic to their position but rejects calls from some vocal Irish Americans that his government should take a much tougher line with London. ìI can understand their disappointment,î he says. ìWe share their disappointment. The [Irish] government made it clear, directly to the British government and also publicly, that we were very disappointed that the elections were postponed. We saw these elections as a way to continue politics in Northern Ireland.î The ambassador is quick to add that relations with Britain are still very good and urges Irish Americans not to give up on the process. ìYou donít throw the baby out with the bath water,î he says. ìWe have developed a high degree of cooperation with the London government over the past few years. Tony Blair, like David Trimble [Northern Irelandís pro-British Unionist leader], like Gerry Adams [leader of Sinn Fein], has made a huge personal commitment to bringing peace in Northern Ireland, and he maintains that commitment. So you donít decide not to work with a valuable partner because you disagree on one point. And we will see what will happen with the autumn elections.î Fahey says that those who claim there is a crisis in the peace process should remember how much Northern Ireland has achieved in a short space of time. ìWe have our good days and our bad days. It is very regrettable that we [were] not able to push the ball over the line and agree on elections in April, but there have been upsets before in this process. It hasnít been a seamless road to success.î Fahey recalls being at a conference in London in 1996 when the IRA exploded a massive truck bomb in the heart of the cityís financial district, threatening to permanently destroy the two-year-old ceasefire in Northern Ireland. ìI remember we talked about that event at great length at that conference, and it seemed as if the process had taken an irretrievable turn for the worst, but politics reasserted itself,î he says. ìThe peace process knitted together and moved on. Weíre hopeful that the process can be put together. The contacts are going on. Itís not as if people arenít talking to each other.î As evidence, Fahey points to meetings that were taking place in Dublin that week between Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and leaders of Northern Irelandís Protestant paramilitary groups, encounters that would have been unthinkable in the 1980s. The contributions of Irish Americans are also vital, Fahey says, even if some members of the community donít agree with the Irish governmentís diplomatic approach to postpone the Northern Ireland elections. ìThe fact that Irish America hasnít turned its back has been hugely important,î he says. ìWe have differences, and not all of Irish America disagrees with the Irish governmentómuch of Irish America agrees with our position.î The diplomat says the horrors of 1970s Northern Ireland are a stark reminder of how far Britain and Ireland have come in their journey. ìWhen I recall the 1970s, it was very difficult even for the British and Irish governments to talk about the situation in the North, never mind to get the political parties in the North to talk to each other, or to get the people on the loyalist side to talk to Irish politicians, but that issue doesnít arise anymore. There are still huge differences in positions, but there is a mood to talk,î Fahey says. The worsening violence in the Middle East is also a useful reminder of how much the situation in Northern Ireland has improved. ìItís very disappointing that the recent Joint Declaration by the British and Irish governments has not been accepted by all the [Northern Ireland] political parties,î Fahey says, ìbut when we see what is happening in Israel and the West Bank at the moment, thatís a long way away.î The ambassador also appeals for historic perspective among those who say the Irish economy, which enjoyed a massive boom in the late í90s, is in serious decline because of its very close ties to U.S. high-tech businesses. ìUnemployment in Ireland is edging up toward 6 percent, which is a worry,î he says, ìbut I can recall, not so long ago, when it was at 16 or 17 percent. Weíre not going to be immune from the downturn in the world economy, but there are signs of improvement.î He adds that on the economic front, his previous posting as Irish ambassador to Germany was easier because at the time Ireland was going through its ìCeltic Tigerî phase of massive economic growth. ìI was very fortunate because the economy was just plowing along at its absolute best, as was the U.S. economy. The last three years have been difficult, and weíre not so foolish as to think that the Irish economy lives in a different world to our main trading partners.î The Irish economy, Fahey says, has a huge reliance on U.S. companies, which makes it more vulnerable to downturns in the global economy. ìThere are nearly 100,000 [Irish workers] directly employed by U.S. companies, and when you add in all the indirect jobs, the U.S. economy is extremely important. The U.S. economy has been sluggish, but we are still showing reasonable levels of growth.î Irelandís greatly improved economy, both north and south of the border, has led White House officials to rethink the $25 million the U.S. government gives each year to the International Fund for Ireland, which was set up in 1986 to promote reconciliation and economic rejuvenation in Northern Ireland and its border counties. The Bush administrationís 2004 budget has proposed a massive drop in funding, down to $8.5 million, but the proposal has been met with very strong opposition in Congress. Fahey believes the fund has made a very important contribution toward solving conflict in Northern Ireland and should not be subject to such a drastic cut. ìThe fund came in 1986 at a time of absolute misery in Northern Ireland,î he says. ìI dealt with the fund briefly, and it really was a terrible period.î The fund, he adds, has helped create nearly 30,000 jobs in Northern Ireland and has been a small but very powerful way of creating trust among opposing political factions. Fahey says he is confident that Congress will maintain its commitment to the fund. ìI was once advised that nothing in Washington is ever finished, but it would seem that the cut will not happen, at least not on the scale it was proposed,î he says. ìWe will be looking very closely at the fund to make sure it is addressing the problems it was set up to address. We will also be looking at its future. [The fund] should not be frozen in time, addressing issues that no longer exist. It should adapt to changes in Ireland.î Irelandís decision to allow Iraqi-bound U.S. troops to land in Shannon Airport has been a factor in the fundís continuation, as recognized by Irish-American Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) during a House of Representatives debate on the fund earlier this year. Opinion polls in Ireland taken since the Iraq war show that the huge troop landings in Shannon didnít appear to damage the reputation of the Irish government, despite popular opposition to the war at the time. Fahey says his nation was not about to abandon its close friendship with the United States when the military escalation against Saddam Husseinís regime began. ìThe U.S. is a friend of Ireland, and it has shown its interest in the peace process in Northern Ireland, but as a trading partner. The Irish government made it clear that it wasnít going to renege on that relationship, particularly at such a crucial time.î Fahey, who was appointed to his current post last September after serving as Irish ambassador to Germany, has wide experience in European affairsóexperience that, with the ongoing diplomatic struggles between the United States and France and Germany, is proving to be especially relevant. Fahey first joined the Irish Foreign Service in 1974, serving in overseas assignments in New Delhi and Brussels, before serving and later heading the European Union Division of the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A former colleague of Faheyís described him as having a very solid reputation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ìHe is one of the most unpretentious people you will ever meet,î he said. ìYou have to get it right with America, because the relationship to the U.S. is absolutely vital to Ireland. He was picked because he can mix the human with the political, and he does it very well.î Having served in both Berlin and Washington in the past year, Fahey sees the frustration on the part of U.S. officials toward the European Union (EU) but says it will take time before Europe can speak to the United States with one voice. ìThere is a certain impatience in Washington with the European Union,î he says. ìBut there has been impatience with the EU for a long time. Itís almost 30 years since [Henry] Kissinger said that he didnít know whom to phone in Europe. There is a feeling here among U.S. officials that the relationship with Europe is difficult because itís difficult to know with whom to talk.î Although officials from the EU and the United States are in almost daily contact on trade matters, communicating with the U.S. government is something Europe has to address, Fahey adds, taking a historic perspective in defining the problem. ìThere are many areas where Europe is just working it out. The United States negotiated its constitution in Philadelphia in the 1780s, and Europe is just now negotiating a constitution. Europe is still defining itself,î he says. ìIt has taken the U.S. more than 200 years to define itself, and, if you follow the Supreme Court, this is a continuing process.î Fahey believes the EUís evolution will still take some time, particularly in light of the new member countries joining over the next few years. He pauses briefly, looking for a metaphor to describe what Europe must do before it can start to fully communicate with the United States. ìIt takes time to evolve. We are now taking on 10 more membersóthat too will have to be worked out. I guess what I am trying to say is that Europe is an entity in construction: You still see the scaffolding and the unfinished floors. The U.S. went through that phase and we have to go through it too.î Sean OíDriscoll is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.