Varadkar defends The Gathering initiative

The Tourism Minister has defended The Gathering initiative in the wake of negative remarks by Irish actor Gabriel Byrne.

Leo Varadkar rejected the actor's claims that the Government was only interested in paying lip service to Culture and the Arts.

Byrne, who is a former Cultural Ambassador to the US, said the homecoming initiative was seen by many as "a scam" and that Americans were tired of being "shaken down" for money.

However, the organisers of The Gathering and The Taoiseach have defended the initiative, which encourages people to invite relatives, who have Irish heritage to visit Ireland next year.

Minister Leo Varadkar said that while Gabriel Byrne is entitled to his opinion, the response he has received to the Gathering has been very positive.