Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 July 2013
161. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the interaction that the Irish Consulate General had recently with the Governor of West Virginia in the United States; if he will outline other related events; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34939/13]
View answerAs part of the Government’s economic promotion efforts led by Ambassador Collins in Washington, the Consulate General in New York has undertaken a series of visits to the States for which it has consular responsibility. These visits are aimed to broaden the Consulate’s economic networks and include outreach to key local leaders, networking with the local Irish communities, and briefings for the media on the Government’s work to restore Ireland’s economy. In connecting with the Irish community in West Virginia, which is very well established and includes a sizeable Scots-Irish element, every opportunity was taken to promote The Gathering. The visit of the Deputy Consul General to West Virginia, from 8th to 11th July included each of these elements. The Deputy Consul General paid a courtesy call on the Governor of West Virginia, Earl Ray Tomblin, which provided an opportunity to update the Governor on the economic situation in Ireland and also to explore possible areas of collaboration. The Governor has visited Ireland on a number of occasions, most recently in 2009 when he visited Belfast, Dublin and a number of other locations. The Governor expressed interest in visiting Ireland again on a future occasion with a view to enhancing the business links, which include investments in West Virginia by a number of Irish companies. The Deputy Consul General also visited the principal institutions of higher learning in West Virginia to encourage collaboration with Ireland, both in terms of students travelling to Ireland for their overseas study and in the area of research and development. His visit provided him with an opportunity to follow-up on the recent visit to Ireland by a group of fifty business students of the University of Charleston, who had spent time in Dublin and Limerick where they connected with a number of their university counterparts. He also met with the leadership of the leading educational institution in the state, West Virginia University, which has a number of collaborative agreements with Irish counterparts and are keen to develop these further. The West Virginia University is in the midst of substantial capital development and has already been working to build on what it views as many similarities with the Irish university sector and areas of potential collaboration. Similarly, the Wheeling Jesuit University is in development phase and is interested in seeking closer international collaboration. There is potential to develop research collaboration given that the University is host to the National Technology Transfer Centre.
The Deputy Consul General met with members of the Irish community in Charleston and Wheeling, mainly Irish by heritage as their ancestors came to West Virginia in the post-Famine period. He also met with some of the Irish-born religious who have played a role in the development of the education and health sectors in West Virginia. Their contribution is widely acknowledged by West Virginians of all faiths.
In his outreach to the media in West Virginia, the Deputy Consul General met with the editors of the main business news publications, and briefed them on the economic recovery in Ireland and highlighted Ireland’s attractions as a location for West Virginia’s companies to access the European Union market.
