SPECIAL ECONOMIC ENVOY KELLY,S VISIT TO DUBLIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000405

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV EFIN EI
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ECONOMIC ENVOY KELLY,S VISIT TO DUBLIN

REF: BELFAST 76

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Classified By: DCM Robert J. Faucher. Reasons 1.4(b/d).


1. (C) From September 16-18, Ambassador Rooney and Special
Economic Envoy for Northern Ireland Declan Kelly met with
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, President Mary McAleese,
Foreign Minister Micheal Martin,and Labour Party leader Eamon
Gilmore. These meetings coincided with the Global Irish
Economic Forum hosted by the Irish government.

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FM: FOCUS ON ECONOMIC INITIATIVES
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2. (C) ForMin Martin said there was a sense of stagnation in
Northern Ireland right now, that Northern Ireland "needs
prodding." He said Ireland shared the U.S. focus on economic
initiatives; Ireland had found that trade and small-business
initiatives were the best way to intensify useful contacts
between North and South on the island. He said American
involvement in Northern Ireland remained very important, but
that the U.S. should focus on moving things along at
judiciously chosen times, rather than try to be everywhere
all the time; getting progress on devolution of policing and
justice was now the key.

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PM: BRITISH-IRISH RE-ENGAGEMENT
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3. (C) In a brief meeting, Prime Minister Cowan reiterated
Martin's points as outlined in para 2 above. The PM stressed
his agreement with Kelly that it was important that the
British and the Irish re-engage on the North more
pro-actively given the current stasis. The PM said he would
stay in close contact with us in order to support Kelly's
work as Economic Envoy.

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PRESIDENT MCALEESE: ON-THE-GROUND WORK NEEDED
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4. (C) President McAleese remarked on the number of changes
in the past 10 years. Government officials from Northern
Ireland routinely attend meetings in the south and a number
of niche all-island bodies have been established. In
particular, she lauded the tourism industry for its efforts.
However, she cautioned that in most parishes there has been
no real change. Further, she indicated that there is a
growing disconnect between the Republican leaders and the
younger generation. In past years, leaders sought Ireland's
assistance in organizing trips for teenagers during marching
season. However, she received no such request this year and
a series of minor disturbances resulted. McAleese feared
that there is no one left to do work on the ground.

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LABOUR: SINN FEIN, DUP EXCLUDE OTHER VOICES
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5. (C) Gilmore noted that he is in frequent contact with
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leaders in Northern
Ireland and that it is their belief that Sinn Fein and the
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have converged to exclude all
other parties and maintain the sectarian divide. He believes
that Ireland has been too preoccupied with itself and the EU
and needs to devote further attention to Northern Ireland.
His sense is that Dublin is largely "out of the loop" with
respect to the North and he believes the "Irish dimension"
has slipped. Gilmore affirmed that he plans to devote more
time to the North and to be more active in all-island issues.

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KELLY: BREAKING OUT OF THE STALEMATE
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6. (C) Kelly told his interlocutors the situation was very
serious in Northern Ireland, with total intransigence
characterizing the politicians of both sides and no dialogue
happening at all. He noted that both sides are using the
current economic climate as an excuse to "run out the clock"
on negotiations. Further, Kelly cautioned that the DUP is
increasingly citing the need to reach out to unionists to
make sure they are comfortable with any proposed step. Kelly
described his short-term objective of getting large-impact
"quick wins" followed up by a longer-term program of
interfacing with the Northern Ireland community organizations
and business to get them to take charge of an agenda of
progress. The U.S. role, he said, was to advise at the
margins, help generate interest in investing in Northern
Ireland, encourage the Northern Irish themselves to take the

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lead, and do everything in close coordination with Ireland,
the UK and the Northern Irish. He added that for too long,
the North has expected America to arrive with "Santa sacks"
and that this practice would no longer continue. Northern
Ireland must take the reins itself.

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CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE
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7. (C) Kelly invited ForMin Martin to participate in a
possible forum on investment in Northern Ireland on September
23 at the annual meeting of former President Clinton's
Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York. Other guests at
the forum would be Northern Ireland First Minister Peter
Robinson (DUP),Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin
McGuinness (Sinn Fein),and British Secretary of State for
Northern Ireland Shaun Woodward. Martin never directly said
he couldn't participate, but did say that he was not planning
on going to the UNGA, but rather staying in Ireland until the
October 2 Lisbon Treaty referendum. (NOTE: FM Martin
subsequently agreed to participate at the CGI. END NOTE.)

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ECONOMIC FOCUS NECESSARY
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8. (C) The Ambassador, Martin and Kelly all agreed on the
importance of initiatives targeting communities that would
reap visible results quickly and help Northern Ireland regain
a sense of momentum. They agreed on the importance of
cross-community reconciliation, changing the mind-sets of
people toward the future and away from a focus on the past
(with a possible reflex reaction back to violence). Martin
remarked that the politicians in Northern Ireland were
paralyzed by an obsession with the minutiae of how the two
sides interact with each other, and that an economic focus
was necessary to get beyond this situation. The business
community was tired of politics because of the paralysis in
Stormont, and ready to build a better future with a pragmatic
emphasis on communities and investment. In a subsequent
discussion with the DCM, a contact at the Irish Department of
Foreign Affairs re-iterated Martin's concern regarding the
political paralysis.

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MARTIN: SECRETARY VISIT WELCOME
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9. (C) ForMin Martin emphasized particularly that he would
welcome a visit by the Secretary. He said that it would be
an optimal time for the Secretary,s visit considering the
urgency of progress toward devolution of policing/justice.
He said he valued the commitment the U.S. showed with its
appointment of Kelly as Economic Envoy, and he stressed the
importance of close coordination between the U.S., UK and
Ireland.


10. (U) Special Economic Envoy Kelly did not have an
opportunity to clear this message.
ROONEY