Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps he has taken in his role to encourage and promote The Gathering in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44904/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The inclusion of tourism, as well as trade and investment, in the Government’s Trade Strategy, is a recognition that tourism, as a labour-intensive sector, has a very strong role to play in employment creation and in economic recovery. My Department has always played an important and active role in promoting Ireland as a tourist destination, in particular through our Embassy Network, and we are working very closely with the Department of Tourism, Transport and Sport and Tourism Ireland to promote The Gathering. In some cases dedicated events have been organised to launch the initiative: just last week, for example, President Higgins and Minister of State Costello launched The Gathering in Argentina at an Embassy organised event. In many other cases Embassy events are being leveraged to promote the initiative and, where suitable, speaking engagements and media/radio interviews are also being used to support the scheme. Along with the Taoiseach and Minister Varadkar, I launched The Gathering in Dublin Castle on 11 May 2012. Following on from this launch we sent a joint letter to all Global Irish Network Tourism Advocates on 14 May. Network members are working with our Embassy Network and Tourism Ireland to promote the Gathering across the world. More recently, I played a central role in many of the events surrounding the Navy-Notre Dame American football match in Dublin, which was sponsored by The Gathering.

I have also used my overseas travel to promote the initiative. To give some specific examples: during my St. Patrick’s Day visit to Montreal and Toronto, I launched the international campaign for The Gathering in Canada; during my September 2012 visit to New York, along with Minister Varadkar, I was guest of honour at a reception co-hosted by the Consul General and Tourism Ireland to promote The Gathering to a large audience drawn from tourism professionals and the Irish community; I took the opportunity to promote the initiative in an interview last week with Libération, an influential French newspaper.