St. Patrick’s Day 2012
“Now is the Time to Invest in Ireland’s Recovery”
Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin T.D., will be travelling to Singapore to promote Ireland this St. Patrick’s Day. Minister Howlin stated “It is essential that we use the opportunity provided by St. Patrick’s Day and maximise the value we get from such global attention and goodwill. Over the course of my visit I will take every opportunity to promote trade, investment and tourism in Ireland; the key elements to our recovery. I will also take the opportunity to launch the Gathering 2013 in Singapore; a year – long celebration of everything great & unique about Ireland.”
The Gathering 2013 is a year-long event, which will be launched on 16th April, aims to attract as many as 325,000 extra visitors to Ireland. This significant increase in visitor numbers would generate €170 million in revenue to the Irish economy in 2013.
Minister Howlin will use the opportunity to address the CEO Forum of the Bio-pharma conference. This is a key industry event and a unique opportunity to promote Ireland’s leading position in the global bio-pharma area.
The Minister will also launch the Asia Internship programme; part of the Farmleigh Fellowship who’s goal is to develop a critical mass of highly skilled professionals with a profound understanding and first-hand experience of Asia and who will spearhead a greater business, political and cultural engagement between Ireland and this region. This new program is aligned with the Government’s recent ‘Pathways to Work’ initiative, which is focused on reengaging young people into the workforce.
A key element of Minister Howlin’s visit will be meeting with the disapora in Singapore. The Minister’s programme includes meetings with the key Irish societies in Singapore and also includes a meeting with a group if young Irish people based in Singapore. This meeting will provide an opportunity for the Minister to hear of the experiences and concerns of our recent emigrants.
Notes to Editor
The Minister is travelling with two officials; his Private Secretary and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Press Officer. In order to reduce costs Minister Howlin and the two officials will stay in the Irish Embassy in Singapore.
Minister Howlin will depart on Tuesday 13th March and in order to take advantage of the opportunities the Bio-pharma Conference provides the Minister will return 22nd March. A wide range of meetings have been organized so as to fully utilize the visit these include:
- Briefing on the work of Ireland House (Embassy of Ireland, IDA & Enterprise Ireland)
- Meeting with Executive Board of Irish Chamber of Commerce
- St Patrick’s Day Reception
- Visit to the Singapore Civil Service Training College
- Meeting with Natasha Brereton of Dow Jones International News
- Meeting with the project team of the Farmleigh Fellowship and launch of the Asia Internship Programme
- St Patrick’s Society of Singapore Annual Ball
- Focus group with younger generation Irish professionals
- Briefing on GAA activities in Asia – Asian County Board, Singapore Gaelic Lions
- Meeting with group of Singaporean business people of high net worth
- Combined Irish and British Chambers of Commerce St Patrick’s Day Dinner St Patrick’s Day Parade
- Meeting with Mr Michael Palmer MP, Speaker of the Singapore Parliament
- Visit to Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
- Meeting with Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
- Official opening of Singapore office of Sigmar Recruitment International, Enterprise Ireland client company
- Meeting with Board of Singapore Ireland Fund
- Press conference for launch of Bio-Pharma conference
- Official opening of IDA/EI stand at Bio-Pharma conference
- Tour of exhibition hall and visit to Irish companies exhibiting
- Meeting with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CEO of Biocon
- Address to CEO Breakfast Forum of Bio-pharma conference
- Visit to PM Group Asia Offices, Enterprise Ireland client company Presentation of new and existing business in SE Asian region
- Lunch with Singaporean Medical Devices Companies, IDA target companies and potential partners for Enterprise Ireland client companies
- Lecture by Professor Brian Arthur (Irish Professor Stanford University) “How Technology is Re-Shaping the 21st Century Economy”
