Tag Archives: Pat Breen TD

A CLARE hotel is to bring thousands of German visitors to the county between now and October, resulting in 60,000 additional bed nights here and 211,000 nationally. Whites Hotel Group, which owns the Hydro Hotel, the Imperial Hotel and the Burren Castle Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, as well as hotels elsewhere in Ireland, announced this week that it is to bring 5,500 German tourists here this year, as part of one agreement with a tour operator filling 25,000 bed nights in Clare and one with a different tour operator, which will result in 35,000 more in the county. Marcus White, the man behind the deals, said while this is great for the Whites Group, it will also have benefits for other businesses. “There is a great spin-off for the economy because we use the Aillwee Caves, Kilmacduagh, Loop Head Lighthouse, The Vandeleur Gardens in Kilrush, we bring them to visit Ennis town and spend some money there. This will create jobs. …

Aer Lingus’ decision to cancel flights between Shannon and Boston between March 29 and April 8, is not going down well in the county. In particular, reports that the Shannon service is being temporarily sacrificed to free up an aircraft to operate a Dublin-US service have not been met with a warm welcome in the Mid West. In a statement, the airline said the flight on April 2 is not affected but other services will not operate. “We are currently communicating directly with customers impacted by the cancellations. We have made a number of alternative travel options available to impacted customers, including alternative routings or alternative dates of travel. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and are doing all possible to minimise the disruption to customer’s travel plans”. Asked if facilitating Dublin services was in fact the reason for the Shannon cancellation, an Aer Lingus spokesperson said, “We have less long-haul aircraft available than are required to meet our operational …

Chairman of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, Pat Breen, has welcomed the launch of Global Irish, the first clear statement of the Government’s policy on the diaspora. “This policy recognises officially, for the first time, the unique and important relationship between Ireland and its diaspora. Global Irish sets out actions to nurture and develop this relationship, and to engage the diaspora. “The new Global Irish website contains a wealth of information for the diaspora on support services; living abroad; staying in touch; and returning home to Ireland,” said the Fine Gael Deputy. Mr Breen said the policy contains a new Global Irish Media Fund to encourage media coverage of the diaspora. It also includes an alumni challenge fund for collaborative initiatives by Irish institutions to target their Irish and non-Irish graduates working internationally. “It was also confirmed that there will be a fourth Global Irish Economic Forum to be held in Dublin in November 2015 and Ireland’s first Global Civic …

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade Chairman Pat Breen  is in Washington this week for a series of meetings with key players in the US Congress on immigration reform, including Speaker John Boehner and Congressmen Paul Ryan and Luis Gutierrez. Deputy Breen said, “This visit is an important opportunity to meet with my US counterparts at a very high level. I am indebted to Speaker John Boehner for taking time out of his busy schedule to discuss immigration reform and was encouraged by his assurance that it remained high on the political agenda. The meetings yesterday with Congressmen Paul Ryan and Luis Gutierrez afforded a valuable insight into the latest thinking on immigration on both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives. “I stressed to both Congressmen the plight of undocumented Irish in the US and the hope that they can finally emerge from living in the shadows as a result of immigration reform. “It …

A local TD presented €5,000 to two Clare doctors on behalf of the Irish Government on a recent visit to Uganda. Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Pat Breen paid an official visit to the Jinga Hospice in the Busoga Region where he presented a cheque of €5,000 to Frank and Patricia Hassett for “the outstanding work being undertaken there”. “I was very pleased to fulfill a long-standing invitation from Drs Frank and Patricia Hassett to visit this hospice which was founded in 2005. They saw the need for a palliative care service for patients with advanced cancer and HIV/AIDS in Jinja which is capital of the Bosoga region with a population of 4.5 million people,” Deputy Breen stated. When Deputy Breen arrived in Jinga, accompanied by the Irish Ambassador to Uganda, Donal Cronin, he was greeted by Frank and Patricia together with members of their local board, civic officials, representatives of the Department of …