MINISTER for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue will travel to Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan, as part of the government’s overseas travel for this year’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin brought the plan to Cabinet on Tuesday outlining which country each minister will travel to.
The Tánaiste will visit Vancouver, Ottawa, and Toronto in Canada while Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will travel to Washington D.C.
Green party leader Eamon Ryan is to travel to Brazil.
Finance Minister Micheal McGrath will visit China, while Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe will go to France and Bulgaria.
Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney will travel to India and Bangladesh with Education Minister Norma Foley heading to the UK, including Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester and London.
Tourism Minister Catherine will travel to the cities of Nashville, Tennessee and Austin, Texas in the US.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien will travel to South Africa, and Zambia, while Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys will travel to Springfield, Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin in the US.
Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman will travel to Japan while Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will travel to Australia, including the cities of Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris will travel to London, while Justice Minister Helen McEntee will visit New York.
In a statement, the Government Press Office said St Patrick’s Day is “an unparalleled opportunity to promote Ireland as a great place to visit, work, study, trade with, and invest in. This year, in all, 38 representatives of the State will bring Ireland’s message to 86 cities in 48 countries”.
“The theme of the trip will be “Ireland’s Future in the World”, the statement said. “Ministers will emphasise Ireland’s commitment to international peace and security and the rules-based multilateral system, especially at this time of conflict and turbulence,” it added.
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