Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 17, inclusive, together.

I visited the United States from 15 to 21 March for the annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Chicago, New York and Washington DC. As the Deputy is aware, I made two previous visits to the United States in February of this year, the first to participate in the Invest in Ireland Roundtable event hosted by President Clinton in New York and the second again to New York when I also visited Boston. These visits were aimed at getting the message across to corporate America and its business leaders that now is the right time to invest in Ireland's recovery.

The importance of these visits, in terms of our economic recovery and the delivery of foreign direct investment to Ireland over the coming period from US companies already located here that are considering further investment and companies considering investing in Ireland for the first time, cannot be over-estimated. I used the opportunity of my visit to Washington DC to meet with President Obama in the White House and to also make further contacts with key business figures and other political leaders in the United States, reinforcing the message that now is an excellent time to invest in Ireland.

I began my visit in Chicago where I attended events organised by the Irish-American Partnership, the Chicago Council on World Affairs and the World Business Chicago Roundtable. I also held a number of meetings at the headquarters of companies with established operations in Ireland. On Saint Patrick's Day, I met with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and joined him in leading the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade. During my relatively short time in Chicago, I also met with political representatives, business leaders and members of the Irish American community. I also travelled to South Bend, Indiana where I visited the University of Notre Dame. Deputies may be aware that the Navy and Notre Dame teams will visit Dublin in September to play a game of American Football. This will be a big attraction for US visitors, with thousands expected to travel and will be a great boost to our tourism sector as well as being an opportunity to promote The Gathering for 2013. An Irish passport was presented to Fr. Ted Hesburgh during the course of the visit. Fr. Hesburgh served as President of Notre Dame University for 35 years.

In New York, my programme included a meeting with the chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE, Duncan Niederauer. While at the Stock Exchange I also gave an address at a breakfast event at the opening of Ireland Day at the NYSE organised by the Irish American Business Association, following which I was invited to ring the opening bell on the floor of the Stock Exchange. I also had a short meeting with Cardinal Dolan at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I travelled from New York to Washington DC where I made the traditional presentation of a bowl of shamrock to President Obama. During our meeting in the White House we discussed a number of issues of mutual interest, including Irish-US economic relations, developments in the European Union, immigration, the Middle East Peace Process and events in Syria and Iran and Ireland's co-chairmanship of the OSCE. We also discussed current developments in Northern Ireland, during which I raised the matter of the Pat Finucane and my belief that a Public Inquiry should be held in this case. The President recalled the warmth of the reception that he and the First Lady received when they visited Ireland last year and he indicated his wish for a return visit. Naturally, I told the President that the Irish people would again warmly welcome him and his wife to our shores, if that be appropriate. He spoke very encouragingly of the measures we are taking to rebuild our economy and to attract investment and to create and retain jobs.

During my time in Washington, I attended the annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast hosted by Vice President Biden and the Friends of Ireland lunch hosted by Speaker Boehner. While on Capitol Hill I met a number of political representatives, including Senators Leahy, Brown and Schumer to discuss issues of particular interest to Ireland. My programme in Washington DC also involved a number of business engagements, including addressing an Enterprise Ireland business leaders' event where I met a number of their client companies; attending a seminar involving a number of companies in the energy and utilities sector; and an event organised by Science Foundation Ireland.

While in Washington, I was the guest speaker at this year's American Ireland Fund gala dinner attended by over 800 guests. I also addressed an event organised by Tourism Ireland and United Airlines to mark the opening of the new direct air route from Washington DC to Dublin, which commenced last Friday, where I underlined its importance in terms of boosting tourism to Ireland from the mid-Atlantic US region and facilitating wider economic links.

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