Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Deputy's suggestion. The cost of the entire greening initiative overseas was less than €20,000. It was money very well spent by Tourism Ireland. A third of the money for that project came from the Northern Ireland Executive, thankfully. Most of those involved agreed to turn the landmarks green without looking for any money at all. I would actually be a little disappointed if officials associated with civic and private buildings around Ireland wanted a grant to go green when so many officials associated with buildings around the world are willing to do so without one.

I was really encouraged by an Irish student, Ben Finnegan, who took it upon himself to convince the mayor of Salamanca in Spain to turn the Plaza Major green. He was successful. I rang Mr. Finnegan last week to thank him. He made a suggestion that is worth considering, that is, that we should launch a big campaign to encourage the Irish overseas, including students and workers, to have the buildings in their cities turned green for The Gathering around St. Patrick's Day. Perhaps we could do something domestically by asking members of the local authorities and chambers of commerce to join in the initiative over the festival period.

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