Vol. 563 No. 4
602 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the meetings the Minister of State at his Department had with the tourism sector on his recent visit to Toronto, Canada; the number of groups he met; if he used the tourism brief given to him by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8242/03]
On behalf of the Government, I recently visited Toronto to lead the St. Patrick's Day cel ebrations and to capitalise on the goodwill generated by these to make new contacts which will benefit Ireland, both culturally and economically. I fulfilled a range of engagements, including with a number of Irish Canadian organisations and Tourism Ireland. In all of this, I made use of briefing provided to me, including briefing on Irish tourism promotion, as appropriate.
603 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the meetings the Minister of State at his Department had with the tourism sector on his recent visit to Brazil; the number of groups he met; if he used the tourism brief given to him by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8251/03]
On behalf of the Government, I recently visited Brazil to lead the St. Patrick's Day celebrations and to capitalise on the goodwill generated by these to make new contacts which will benefit Ireland, both culturally and economically. I fulfilled many engagements, including with the Brazilian Minister for the Environment, Dr. Marina Silva, with representatives of regional government and with business, human rights and other organisations. I also presided over the inauguration of the Irish Embassy in Brasilia. In all of this, I made use of briefing provided to me, including briefing on Irish tourism promotion, as appropriate.
