Biden to Address Irish Parliament but Faces Boycott Over His Foreign Policy

President Joe Biden met with Irish President Michael Higgins in Dublin on Thursday and is expected to deliver a speech during a joint session of the Irish parliament on his four-day visit to the island of Ireland.

The President participated in a tree-planting ceremony with Higgins and rang the Peace Bell before meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar.

In his parliamentary address, Biden is set to reflect on the enduring, close, and collective history between the United States and Ireland, according to Amanda Sloat, Senior Director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council.

Biden will also talk about areas of cooperation between the two countries, including Ukraine and Northern Ireland, Sloat added.

A few days before his parliamentary address, People Before Profit, an extreme left-wing party, announced that it would boycott the speech over objections to Biden’s foreign policy.

The political party branded Biden a warmonger on its website and urged people to protest during his visit.

Left-wing Irish lawmakers condemned Biden’s foreign policy on Palestine, Ukraine, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the lack of opportunity for lawmakers to ask questions.

In response to the boycott, Sloat said that Biden would meet with the leaders of Ireland’s main political parties.

She stated that the President has received a warm welcome in Ireland and that he is grateful for the invitation to address the Houses of Parliament.

Biden arrived in Belfast on Tuesday evening to embark on his personal and political trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland. His visit marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal that brought an end to three decades of violent conflict in Northern Ireland.

During an event at Ulster University on Wednesday, Biden acknowledged the hard work it took to achieve the 1998 agreement in which former President Bill Clinton and Sen. George Mitchell played a pivotal role.

The deal brokered peace between unionists, who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK, and nationalists, who sought to make it a part of the Republic of Ireland, putting an end to the violence that had led to the loss of more than 3,500 lives over three decades.

In conclusion, Biden’s visit to Ireland would focus on his country’s shared history with Ireland and cooperation with Northern Ireland as well as Ukraine, though his foreign policy has faced some criticism from left-wing Irish lawmakers.