Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

The visits by Queen Elizabeth II, followed so shortly afterwards by that of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, were remarkable and memorable events for Ireland.

The visit by Queen Elizabeth was a truly historic occasion which marked a further strengthening and maturing of the bilateral relationship between our two countries. As the first visit by a British monarch to this State, the visit by the Queen and the warm welcome she received illustrate just how far we have come as a country at peace in the past number of years. The visit was a major success and was a hugely significant and memorable occasion for all parties.

The visit by the US President, Barack Obama, and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, was a very tangible expression of the warmth and strength of the relationship between our two countries. It allowed us to reaffirm these strong links and to commit ourselves to further strengthening that relationship. It was also a great opportunity to show a positive image of Ireland to the world, building on the images from the historic visit by Queen Elizabeth the previous week.

While it is very hard to quantify in financial terms the full value of these visits, Fáilte Ireland found that the combined visits generated almost 38,000 print and broadcast pieces, worth nearly €300 million in terms of their advertising equivalent and generating positive global exposure for Ireland. the country will benefit long into the future from both visits.

Britain continues to be our largest trading partner, our most important export market and the most important source of tourists to Ireland. There are significant flows of investments in both directions. The continued strength of our relationship is hugely important as we both seek to overcome challenging economic times and look for new opportunities for co-operation to support development and growth across our islands. The historic visit of the queen provided us with a significant opportunity to focus on economic, trade, investment and tourism opportunities with Britain. There was, of course, great international interest in the visit, which sent out very positive messages to the world that Ireland is dealing with its economic difficulties with determination and is open for business.

The visit of the US President underlined the significance of Ireland's ties with the United States, particularly the economic relationship, to our mutual benefit. That relationship supports tens of thousands of jobs, with some 95,000 Irish people employed by US companies in Ireland. Our consistent message to corporate America has been that we are open for further business and investment and working to our particular strengths. The president's visit to Ireland greatly enhanced that message. Ireland could not have received a better endorsement for its future well-being.

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