As the annual discussion around whether or not Irish government ministers should travel abroad for St. Patrick's Day rumbles on, we asked Cavan - Monaghan's new junior minister, Niamh Smyth TD, why bother. The Fianna Fáil TD was appointed a junior Minister of state at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation.
She revealed how she and other ministers like her are told where they are going and their locations are dictated by their portfolio. And since Estonia is a world leader in AI, she has been sent on an information-gathering mission to Finland and the Baltic States for her St. Patrick's trip:
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