The Government is planning a diplomatic blitz of the United States for St Patrick's Day. Tánaiste Simon Harris will bring a memo to Cabinet this morning outlining plans to send 40 Ministers across the world in March.
Political Correspondent Seán Defoe reports: "The Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and no less than eight other Ministers will all travel to the United States next month for St Patrick's Day.
The diplomatic offensive has been set up in response to a turbulent first few weeks of Donald Trump's second Presidency. Much of the plan will focus on meetings with political leaders at federal and state level to build partnerships to protect Ireland's interests.
Trade in particular will be front and centre with Ministers to stress that Ireland is the seventh largest source of foreign direct investment into the United States - and that the partnership between the countries is worth a trillion euro economically a year.
But there will be heaps of outside pressure for the Government to also fight the corner for Palestine while meeting American officials.
And some are opposed to the trips happening at all - with the Social Democrats yesterday calling for neither Government or opposition politicians to visit Washington this St Patrick's Day."
