TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN and the Governor of New York Kathy Hochul have welcomed the news that the US is to lift its travel ban in November.
Speaking at a press conference in Manhattan this afternoon, the Taoiseach said he is “delighted that the US travel ban will be lifted” as it will give “a fillip to everybody”.
The governor said “we miss the tourists, we want the tourists to come back”.
The White House announced the change in the current travel ban into the US today.
The strict ban has been in place since March 2020 when then-president Donald Trump announced the curbs as part of measures to mitigate against the spread of Covid-19.
The restriction has remained in place for the eight months since Joe Biden’s inauguration and there have been intense diplomatic efforts from the EU and UK in recent months to lift it.
Jeffrey Zients, coronavirus response coordinator for President Biden, told reporters today that the new “consistent approach” would take effect in “early November.”
Speaking to reporters in New York, the Taoiseach said he had written to US President Joe Biden about the issue last month, stating that he made the case for the ban to be lifted between the US and Europe.
He said he pointed out that Ireland has a very high vaccination rate now and that the risk of travel is much lower.
“I think it is important economically for Ireland, particularly aviation, and tourism and of course the economic connectivity because of the large presence of American companies in Ireland and the need for executives to be coming to and fro,” he said.
The Taoiseach said it is an important announcement that gives confidence now that we are now entering the “final phase” in terms of restrictions.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, who is also in New York for UN week, said:
“I welcome the announcement today by the White House that from November the US will lift travel restrictions on those who are fully vaccinated. This is something that we, along with our EU colleagues, have been advocating for a considerable time and we have alerted the US Administration to the high levels of vaccination within Ireland.
“Ensuring ease of travel is vital for protecting our strong connections across the Atlantic, be that in business, academia, tourism or family connections. With 90% of Irish adults now fully vaccinated, I know this will come as very good news for many in Ireland, the Irish living in the United States, as well as our American friends with links to Ireland and the rest of Europe.”
The Taoiseach also said he spoke to the governor about Ireland and New York city’s approach to Covid-19: “Like ourselves the gradual phased return of normal activity is the best way to go.”
New York open for business
Speaking about the travel ban being lifted for vaccinated people, Hochul said the message to global travellers is that the rate of Covid in New York is low, and that New York is “open for business” with museums, concerts and broadway shows all reopened.
When asked is she would like to see the J1 visa provision allowing Irish students to travel to the US return next year, she said: “Absolutely”
She said that Irish students have been coming to here for years, from New York City to Montauk.
“It is part of growing up,” she said, stating that she had the opportunity to travel abroad when she was a student.
The governor said it is important that young people get the opportunity to travel to the US, to have a good experience of the country and to understand what America is about.
“I feel it is really discouraging to me that the during the Trump administration there was such a suppression of anyone coming here,” she said.
“We need to get them back,” she said, adding that having immigrants coming to the US “is part of our heritage”.
Speaking about their wider meeting today, the Taoiseach said they discussed Hochul’s proud Kerry roots, and her family’s love for the GAA.
Hochul is the granddaughter of Irish immigrants from Maharees, Co. Kerry. Her grandfather Jack Courtney met her grandmother Mary Browne in Chicago. They later settled in Buffalo New York, where he helped start the first Buffalo Irish Centre.
Presenting gifts to each other today, Hochul joked about the rivalry between Cork and Kerry and presented the Taoiseach with a GAA jersey.
The Taoiseach gifted the governor with a book commissioned to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage in Ireland.
The Taoiseach will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, where he is expected to give a clear message to the council that it must take climate change and its contribution to instability in the world seriously.
Later this evening, the Taoiseach is due to pay a visit to the 9/11 memorial.
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