Vol. 448 No. 8
33 Mr. O'Dea asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade, in view of President Clinton's special initiatives with regard to United States investment into Ireland, the steps, if any, he is taking to assist Irish exporters to penetrate the United States. [2923/95]
I welcome President Clinton's initiatives to help the Northern Ireland peace process and, in particular, the Trade and Investment Conference to be held in Washington in May. Preparatory work for this conference is under way and my main objective will be to use it as a vehicle to find ways to promote tourism and trade links for the mutual benefit of US and Irish companies, north and south, with specific reference to the problems of the Border regions that have suffered economic disadvantage as a result of the Northern Ireland situation. Furthermore, I intend that Irish companies, with the assistance of An Bord Tráchtála, will vigorously pursue any initiatives or opportunities that emerge from the conference for increased exports to the US market. In the meantime, Irish exporters to the US are welcome, as always, to avail of the normal export promotion services of An Bord Tráchtála.
