Number of ministerial Paddy’s Day trips halved

MORE ministers will be staying at home this St Patrick’s Day with the economic difficulties being cited as the primary reason behind a halving in the number of foreign trips.

Despite warnings to keep the cost of the 17 trips to a minimum, ministers will still be entitled to bring their spouses and officials to their far-flung destinations.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen last night defended the cost of the trips which amounted to €523,000 last year.

He insisted his trip to the US will be used to highlight the plight of the undocumented Irish and to show that Ireland is tackling the economic problems.

Mr Cowen will present the traditional bowl of shamrock to US President Barack Obama in the White House before a lunch on Capitol Hill, hosted by the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

The Taoiseach said the Government will be using the trip to send a message that Ireland is “fighting back” and “has a clear and comprehensive strategy for dealing with the impact of the economic crisis”.

He said: “I know that some people question the value of these trips, particularly during this severe economic downturn. But St Patrick’s day gives Ireland a global platform that is the envy of every country in the world.”

He added: “It gives us an unparalleled opportunity to send out a positive message about Ireland and inform political and business leaders, trading and investment partners and the international media about how we are tacking the current challenges.”

Mr Cowen, who will be joined by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, will give an address in Washington on building Irish-US relations.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will visit London where he will brief journalists from the Bloomberg news agency and visit the International Financial Services centre.

Minister for Community and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon O’Cuiv will visit cities in Australia, using the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Children’s Minister Barry Andrews will open an office of the Irish Development Association in Mumbai where he will also do media interviews as well as promoting Irish drinks through Bord Bia.

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan, who will visit New York and San Francisco, said the heavy schedules on the trips mean they are “not an easy thing to do”.

Speaking from the Green Party’s annual conference last night, he said: “It’s something I’m quite happy to do because it’s just part of the work we have to do to turn the economy around to keep jobs here. We need a good international reputation, we need to restore our international reputation and I think we can partly do that with these visits and that’s why I’m going.”

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Health Minister Mary Harney are among the high-profile ministers who will be staying at home this St Patrick’s Day.

A statement issued yesterday said the Government “has instructed all Departments to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum. The total cost will be considerably less than in previous years”.

A government spokesperson later said this would mean less than half of last year’s bill.

Last year the trips were made by 33 junior and senior ministers as well as the attorney general.