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IrishEchoIrishEcho Celebrating Vol. 92 92 years 1928-2020 No. 26 The USA’s most widely read Irish-American newspaper DOOR CLOSED

Ireland's Ambassador to the United Nations, Geraldine Byrne Nason. UN Win By Ray O'Hanlon

Ireland survived the "group of death." Together with Norway, Ireland will take a seat on the United Nations Security Council for two years spanning the 2021-22 term. Ireland secured the seat in a General Assembly vote Wednesday, June 17. Canada lost out to the two Eu- ropean nations, Ireland, a member of the European Lady Liberty has been laid of amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Union but not of NATO, and Norway, a member of NATO but not the EU. By Ray O'Hanlon restrictions would remain in place until the end of the The vote followed a three year campaign by Irish year. diplomats, political leaders and well known interna- For all intents and purposes America's "Golden Door" "But in the executive order that outlined the mea- tional figures including Bono and former president, is now closed. sures on Monday, Trump said they 'may be contin- Mary Robinson, whose post presidential carer has The Trump administration is extending a ban on ued as necessary.' been largely as a global representative for the UN. green cards issued outside the United States until the "In his executive order, Trump said admitting more In a Wednesday evening statement, the Depart- end of the year and adding many temporary work green card holders and temporary workers posed an ment of Foreign Affairs said: "Ireland this evening visas to the freeze, including those used heavily by economic threat to American workers. One of his of- was elected to the United Nations Security Council technology companies and multinational corpora- ficials told reporters the restrictions would create job and will now take a seat on the 15- member body in tions, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday, as did mul- opportunities for more than half a million American 2021 and 2022. tiple other media outlets. And the effect of the ban will citizens." "Ireland campaigned on the themes of Partnership, be felt keenly in Ireland. The report added: "Critics are skeptical. Many busi- Empathy and Independence as the key attributes that While there is virtually no flow of legal immigration ness groups say it will hurt the U.S. economy by mak- our country brings to its engagement with the UN from Ireland right now, and little or no transatlantic ing it harder to attract talent. Some political experts and which will drive our work on the Security Coun- travel, there are not a few in Ireland who have been view the move as an effort to revive the anti-immi- cil. able to gain entry to the U.S. by way of specialized gration platform that Trump ran on in 2016." "Speaking after the result was announced in New visas such as the H1-B and J1. The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland York, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: 'This is a day The Irish Times was reporting: "Donald Trump has was critical of the move, saying that the sweeping re- on which we can all be proud. We have experienced introduced more sweeping restrictions on immigra- strictions on immigration would damage both the a very difficult three months as a nation as we iso- tion that will affect everyone from green card appli- Irish and U.S. economies as they struggle to recover lated ourselves from friends, family, work and travel. cants to scientists, doctors and au pairs who were from the coronavirus pandemic. Continues on page 2 hoping to go to the U.S. The president said the visa Continues on page 2 Page 7

Business and Economic News / www.irishecho.com / Irish Echo JUNE 24 - 30, 2020 NY-NB remote, but never more connected

By Máirtín Ó Muilleoir Adelaide, Australia, and Guadalajara, Mexico. The feed- We would rather have been in back online during the confer- New York for our 11th annual ence and feedback afterwards New York-New Belfast summit has been uniformly positive. but there was certainly an up- A big hand then for our spon- side to broadcasting live from sors: Tourism Ireland, NI Bu- Belfast and streaming in our reau, Irish American partners from around the Partnership, Irish Business Or- world. ganization, MasterCard, Cboe Firstly, we had the highest- Hanweck, Forepont, KPMG, In- ever number of delegates: over vest NI, Options and, especially 500 registered and, at time of Belfast City Council. writing, around 1200 people Readers will also be pleased to had watched back on YouTube know that donations to Covid at our five-plus hours of discus- charities Meitheal in New York sions, debates and musical in- – which surpassed its $60,000 terludes. target — and the Robin Hood We also managed to expand Appeal in Belfast, were fantastic. our reach to bring in friends and What did we learn? Well, that allies from cities as far apart as the online conference isn't a sad Kerry Airport jobs safe

Kerry Airport Ireland has announced that, despite a critical The intrepid team at NIAVAC behind the virtual summit. fall in revenue, it will retain its entire workforce on pre-Covid- 19 pay rates. and This is part of a plan aimed at maintaining the airport’s via- substitute for the physical con- pressed an interest in the work bility as air travel returns to normal in the coming months, ference gathering but a stand- of OBBI, a Belfast start-up led said a release. out event all of its own. by Gareth Macklin who ad- Stated the release: "2020 has been a devastating year for avi- Look out then for enhanced dressed our conference. OBBI ation and Kerry Airport, like all airports, has endured its worst use of what we learned as the has created an innovative soft- downturn in living memory. first major conference in Ireland ware management tool to en- "It is the expectation of all experts in the industry that it will since the pandemic hit as we sure you can take the first step be 2023 before there is a return to the activity that was enjoyed gear up for the Belfast Interna- of the Rebuilding Journey — re- in 2019. To ensure full employment at the airport a new re- tional Homecoming and turning to work — with confi- source system, with the flexibility to schedule the team when Golden Bridges in Boston later dence. they are most needed, is in development." this year — which will most Gareth can be contacted at The CEO of Kerry Airport, John Mulhern, said: “I must com- likely be hybrid happenings. gareth.macklin@ mend and thank the staff at Kerry Airport who have shown Finally, many of you ex- obbisolutions.com. tremendous commitment and resilience in the face of the chal- lenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. "They remained at work throughout the crisis while shifts were developed to keep them safe. We are clearly facing into O’Dwyer & Bernstien, LLP a different future and we have resisted taking the option that has been experienced elsewhere to lay-off staff, cut wages and Attorneys-at-Law reduce hours. "Over the coming weeks, with the introduction of the new Concentrating in: and more efficient scheduling system, it is our intention to see all staff return to full pay, full hours and full employment. The Construction Accidents - Scaffolding Accidents success of this reorganization will determine whether further Automobile Accidents - Personal Injury and more difficult decisions are required down the line.” Continued the release: "This positive development for staff Medical Malpractice - Wills and Estates at Kerry Airport has been announced ahead of the resump- tion of flights in July. Serving the Irish American Routes to London (Luton & Stansted), , Frank- furt Hahn, Berlin, Alicante, Faro are set to commence soon Community For Over 75 Years while the twice daily Kerry- serv- No charge for consultations ice, operated by , has continued to operate through- out the Covid-19 pandemic." 45 Broadway, Suite 2430 New York, NY 10006 Tel: (212) 571-7100 Fax (212) 571-7124