Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern welcomes news of US special envoy

Former taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Bertie Ahern has welcomed the forthcoming announcement of a US special envoy to Northern Ireland.

Joe Kennedy III is set to be named as early as next week, BBC understands.

“If Joe Biden can add weight [to foreign investment], it will certainly be a good appointment,” he told BBC’s Sunday Politics.

“Concentrating for a number of years on the economic situation will help Northern Ireland,” he added.

It is understood the role will see Mr Kennedy, who is the grandson of assassinated presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, focus on economic development and closer ties, and not political issues such as Brexit or the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Mr Ahern said: “Joe Kennedy has always taken an interest in Northern Ireland – because of the circumstances where its cost base is very attractive for foreign direct investment, it has quality employees, it has a large amount of young graduates.”

A distant relative of late US president John F Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy’s grandson, Joe Kennedy III is part of one of the most famous families in American politics.

Before attending Harvard Law School, Mr Kennedy served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic for two years.

He then became a district attorney before setting his eyes on the US House of Representatives.

Business leaders also welcomed the appointment.

Tina McKenzie from Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said: “Having a Kennedy name back, associated with this place, is a great thing.”

She said the appointment will create “a real push momentum” in developing American investment in the region.

Glyn Roberts from Retail NI said he welcomed the suggestion that Mr Kennedy would focus on the economy and avoid political interference.

“I think that’s what the business community wants to hear,” he said.

He added that Northern Ireland “still has a lot of goodwill in the United States”, and the appointment of a “heavy hitter” like Joe Kennedy was “going to be a good thing”.