‘Donegal is open for business’ is the message that Cllr. Dessie Larkin, Méara of Donegal County Council will be bringing to the US on his visit next week.
Cllr. Larkin, his colleague Cllr. Liam Blaney and Ms. Kathleen Browne, Staff Officer in the County Secretariat Office of Donegal County Council will leave on Saturday morning from Belfast, arriving in New York at 11.30am on the same day. During this trip the deputation will visit both Philadelphia and New York and will participate in the annual St. Patricks Day celebrations. The deputation will return home on Saturday 18 March.
This week long visit will see the deputation from Donegal County Council meet with senior executives of Prudential, whose sister company Pramerica employs over 500 people in Letterkenny. Cllr. Larkin said that “the purpose of this meeting is twofold. Firstly, to acknowledge the contribution that has been made by Pramerica to Letterkenny and Co. Donegal and secondly, to highlight the recent infrastructural developments in the town, particularly in the provision of Broadband. This will give us an opportunity to identify the needs of Pramerica going forward and how we can ensure that these needs will be facilitated so as to safeguard continued investment”.
The deputation from Donegal will be bringing with them samples of products produced locally by the community of talented craftspeople who live and work in Donegal. Each year a selection of products is presented to the American hosts and Cllr. Larkin has described this as “an excellent opportunity for local craft producers to exhibit their products to a captivated audience and he noted that in the past this has resulted in local craft producers receiving lucrative orders from this American market”.
“One of the most important aspects of this trip this year will be meeting with the Emigrant Reform group and the Donegal deputation will do all it can to lobby for and support the Kennedy McCann Bill in Washington” stated Cllr. Larkin. He added “this Bill will be extremely important in securing the future of undocumented Irish people in the US. This item will also be top of the agenda at a planned dinner meeting with the Irish American Business Chamber and the US Ambasador to Ireland Mr.James C. Kenny will be attending this dinner”.
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For further information contact:
Anne Marie Conlon
Communications Officer
Donegal County Council
Tel: 074 91 72574
Mob: 087 9192275
Email: amconlon@donegalcoco.ie
8 March 2006