Minister In New York To Promote Ireland For Business And Tourism

The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton T.D., will commence an intensive round of engagements to promote Ireland as a leading tourist and business destination in New York on Tuesday 13th March 2012.

"There is already an astonishing amount of business and tourism activity between Ireland and the US, for instance:

- tourist numbers from North America increased last year and broke the 1 million mark in the period September 2010-September 2011,

- there are approximately 500, IDA supported, US companies operating in Ireland, employing over 100,000 people and

- merchandise trade in 2010 was valued at €27.2bn (+4.1% on 2009) while exports to the US were valued at €20.8bn (+13.6% on 2009).

"This is an excellent foundation on which to build and it reflects the fact that Ireland is an attractive destination for tourists and investors alike", said Minister Burton.

Over the course of her visit, Minister Burton will address a number of groups and guests at events such as:

- the Irish Business Organisation, the largest business network of Irish and Irish-Americans in New York with over 350 members and a broader network of contacts who attend monthly events;

- a reception hosted by Matheson Ormbsy Prentice, which will include a range of existing and potential investors in Ireland;

- the annual St Patrick's Day event hosted by media consultant Terry Rooney, which is expected to be attended by over 100 media contacts (Minister Burton will also have a separate interview with NBC);

- the Ireland-US Council lunch which is an annual fixture on the New York calendar and a focal event for business promotion with strong support from Tourism Ireland, IDA, Enterprise Ireland and CIE Tours. Around 300 clients and business interests are expected to attend.

- the Irish America Hall of Fame, event which will honour five distinguished leaders - Dr John Lahey, Commissioner Ray Kelly, Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Tom Moran and Kevin Roche.

Commenting on the importance of promoting Ireland abroad, Minister Burton said: "The Irish economy is growing again, although the level of that growth is low, and our public finances are under control. Export levels are at their highest level ever, we have restructured and recapitalised our banking system, labour costs have improved and new initiatives have been launched to boost job creation.

"Ireland ranks first worldwide in terms of the value of projects and investment it attracts, according to the IBM Global Location Trends Report. The World Bank's 'Doing Business' report for 2011 found Ireland to be the most supportive business environment in the euro area."

Recent investments include Abbott, Eli-Lilly, Mastercard, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and PayPal.

(CD)