Northern Ireland Assembly

Part of the debate – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 12:00 pm on 14 February 2012.

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Photo of Arlene Foster Arlene Foster DUP 12:00, 14 February 2012

The Member will know that I would welcome a more inclusive St Patrick’s Day that we can identify with here as a unionist community in Northern Ireland, but she must also recognise that 70 million people across the world celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Therefore, we must try to get the benefit of that by attracting them not only into the Republic of Ireland but into Northern Ireland. That is the reference to the greening of those landmarks. The wheel in London was greened last year to try to attract people into Northern Ireland.

One of the campaigns for Tourism Ireland in the GB market is to have that differentiation between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is hugely important that our nearest neighbours recognise that this is our big year of opportunity. They should come along and enjoy all the cultures that we have in Northern Ireland, and we look forward to welcoming them when they come.