Dublin, Ireland. Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan will visit Cyprus on St Patrick’s Day, according to Ireland’s public broadcaster RTE. O’Callaghan will travel to both Cyprus and Greece on March 17.
Ministerial travel programme for March 17
O’Callaghan is among 38 Irish ministers planning overseas trips on St Patrick’s Day, with eight, including Taoiseach Micheal Martin, set to travel to the United States.
Martin is expected to visit US President Donald Trump at the White House and to travel to Philadelphia. Foreign Minister Helen McEntee will visit Boston, and Enterprise Minister Peter Burke will travel to New York.
Arts Minister Patrick O’Donovan will travel to the state of Georgia, Housing Minister James Browne will visit Chicago, and Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon will be in San Francisco. Junior ministers Robert Troy and Niamh Smyth will travel to Austin and Miami respectively.
Other destinations outside the United States
Those not travelling to the United States include Tanaiste and former Taoiseach Simon Harris, who will travel to both Paris and London, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien, who will travel to Brazil, and Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton, who will visit both Chile and Argentina.
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers will travel to both Senegal and Nigeria.
EU presidency plans and Cyprus-County Leitrim pairing
Ireland will take over the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency from Cyprus at the beginning of July and has paired each EU member state with one of its own counties as a cultural initiative for its six-month term.
Cyprus has been paired with County Leitrim, Ireland’s smallest county by population.
The Irish government said that during its six-month term holding the rotating presidency, the ambassador of that member state and the Irish ambassador to it will “undertake a programme of public engagements focused on Ireland’s European relations and its role in the European Union”.
It added that the visits “will help to strengthen links between counties across Ireland and other EU member states” and will “contribute to building Ireland’s relationship with its EU partners as Ireland takes on a significant leadership role at European level”.
Which part of Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency plans are you most interested in following?
