Jobs minister can leave passport at home for first trip

The Ministry of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation carries with it the dividend of plenty of foreign travel on behalf of the Government.

No surprising, then, that when new incumbent Mary Mitchell O’Connor got word of a trade mission from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland — just days in the job — she reached for her passport.

She admitted yesterday: “When I was told about a trade mission I thought I would be going off to some exotic destination.”