Vol. 565 No. 4
73 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his Department is in receipt of representations for financial aid from a consultancy group representing Montserrat; and if so, his position regarding this matter. [11245/03]
The Department is not currently in receipt of representations from a consultancy group or otherwise in relation to financial aid for Montserrat. In 2001 a grant of €190,461 was allocated from Ireland Aid to the authorities in Montserrat for assistance in the development of a national tourism strategy document for the island. Montserrat's tourism industry was severely affected by a series of major volcanic eruptions during the late 1990s. An Irish consultancy organisation, CHL Consulting Group, was retained by the authorities in Montserrat to draw up the strategy document. We received last month a copy of a draft of this document. When finalised, this document will receive careful consideration from my Department.
