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US errors rocked Irish economy -- Kennedy

Jason O'Brien

TED KENNEDY has admitted that America's economic mismanagement has had a severe impact on the Irish economy.

The long-serving US senator, who is currently battling brain cancer, also said he was extremely proud of the role he played in the Northern Ireland peace process.

"The relationship between the United States and Ireland is strong and will remain strong long into the future," Mr Kennedy (77) said in an interview in the current edition of 'Social and Personal' magazine.

"If anything, the US is concerned that our own economic mismanagement has contributed to economic difficulties in Ireland and around the world."

Meltdown

However, he side-stepped the question when asked if he believed that Ireland had been worse hit by the financial meltdown than other European countries.

"The entire world has been hit hard by the economic crisis," he said. "No country has been unaffected."

Mr Kennedy, who was granted an honorary knighthood in recognition of his work on the peace process, admitted he felt that this work would form a major part of his legacy.

"I am enormously proud to have contributed to the Northern Ireland peace process," he said. "The political parties and the people deserve enormous credit for the effort they made to achieve peace."

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