Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 23 Oct 1997

Vol. 482 No. 2

Written Answers - Ministerial Travel.

Bernard Allen

Question:

45 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will give details of her recent trip to the USA; the contacts, if any, she had there in relation to her Department's responsibilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17334/97]

Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Miss de Valera)

I visited Washington, Boston and Rhode Island in the USA during the period Monday, 13 October to Saturday, 18 October 1997.

The Government is committed to greater access for people with disabilities in all areas and my first purpose in making the trip was to explore, in the American context, the growing participation in the arts by people with disabilities. I met the president of the Very Special Arts Project in Washington, who had visited Ireland in November 1996, to participate in a conference held in Cork entitled "From Margin to Mainstream: Equal Opportunity for People with Disabilities International Conference". This was a very valuable meeting and I have no doubt but that the experience of those involved in the Very Special Arts Project in the USA can help significantly with the work which is taking place in Ireland in this area.

Also in Washington, I visited the Kennedy Centre and met the president of the centre. I had a very useful meeting with the chairperson and chief of staff of the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington. In a wider context, I discussed the arts in general — the visual arts, dance, music and theatre — with the representatives of those bodies and with the commissioner from the Mayor of Boston's Office of Cultural Affairs.

My second purpose in visiting the USA was to address the World Canals Conference in Rhode Island. Ireland will be hosting this prestigious international conference in 2001 and my visit afforded a very valuable opportunity to project the image of Ireland's waterways as a highly attractive tourist destination, not only in terms of their heritage value, both built and natural, but also in terms of their very considerable scenic and angling potential.

The Government is committed to the establishment of a music conservatoire in Ireland and, in this context, the third purpose of my trip to the USA was to visit the New England Conservatory in Boston. I was delighted to meet the provost of the conservatory and its vice-president for institutional advancement and international affairs. I will have discussions with my colleague, the Minister for Education, shortly in regard to this aspect of my visit.

I also visited Boston College, where I met the president and vice-president, together with the director of the college's centre for Irish management and a director of its Irish studies programme. I had a very valuable meeting with members of the Boston Irish Famine Memorial Committee and was also pleased to pay an official visit to an art exhibition entitled "Redressing Cathleen: Contemporary Works from Irish Women Artists" at the McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College. I assure the Deputy that I availed of every opportunity which the visit presented to project a very positive view of Ireland in the context of the richness of its heritage and culture, particularly for visitors from overseas.