John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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165. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he travelled abroad as part of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations; the locations he travelled to; the duration of the trip; the cost of the trip, including travel and accommodation in addition to other expenses incurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18896/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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St. Patrick’s Day offers a unique opportunity to promote Ireland’s economic and political interests overseas, with levels of publicity and media attention unmatched by the national day of any other country. Ministerial visits around this period are organised to ensure that we use this exposure to maximise the promotion of Ireland’s trade, tourism and investment interests and to spread a positive message about Ireland remaining a committed member of the EU.

This year, I undertook a four day St Patrick’s Day promotional programme and trade mission to Milan and Rome. The programme began in Italy’s economic capital, Milan; with a series of events with state agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Bord Bía and Tourism Ireland.

Italy is an important partner for Ireland – indeed it’s our ninth largest trading partner with annual trade exceeding €12 billion annually. Italy is also an important tourist market for us with over 300,000 Italians visiting Ireland annually and great potential to grow that market. With the pending departure of the UK from the European Union, Italy will be the third largest economy in the EU. Ireland’s trade and cultural links with the Italian people will only increase in the coming years.

The visit also took in the Italian capital Rome, for an important bi-lateral meeting with the Italian Foreign Minister, Angelino Alfano where I raised Ireland’s unique concerns and priorities. The Italian government has a strong understanding of our approach, and I have had the opportunity to brief Prime Minister Gentiloni when he visited Ireland in his capacity as Foreign Minister last year.

I also addressed a number of Irish community engagements including the now-annual “greening” of the Colosseum for St Patrick’s Day, a major St Patrick’s Day reception at the Irish Embassy, and the hosting of the gala “Celtic Ball” in the city.

As well as these individual meetings, the St. Patrick’s Day period is also used to promote trade, tourism and investment at larger business events and to promote Ireland in the international media.

Each Minister and Department is responsible for their own costs and, where Embassies incur costs on behalf of Ministers, these are agreed with the Ministers’ offices in advance. Before travelling, all Ministers are reminded that the programme of Ministerial visits for St. Patrick’s Day should be undertaken in the most cost efficient way possible.

With these guidelines on travel in place, the cost of my Saint Patrick’s Day travel in 2017 was just over €965, including accommodation and incidental costs.