£40,000 St Patrick’s Day trip to US ‘worthwhile’, says Communities Minister

Stormont’s Communities Minister has said his “worthwhile” St Patrick’s Day trip to the US cost nearly £40,000.

Gordon Lyons acknowledged it was a financially “difficult period” but said the Executive should not “gut” the arts and culture budget.

He was among DUP ministers, including deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Education Minister Paul Givan, who attended events in Washington DC and met US President Donald Trump in March.

Mr Lyons also hosted an event on Capitol Hill, along with the American 250 commission, that focused on the contribution of the Ulster-Scots community to the signing of the US Declaration of Independence.

Sinn Fein ministers boycotted the visit in protest at the US Government’s policy towards Gaza.

Mr Lyons told the Stormont Assembly on Monday that the total cost of the visit including flights, accommodation, advertising, catering at the event, entertainment, commemorative coins and books, and pop-ups was £39,727.

“In terms of the value, we were able, in a way that we haven’t done before, to promote that Ulster-American connection,” he said.

“We got exposure during the St Patrick’s Day parade to the New York media market, a media market of eight million people, telling them about the historical links between Northern Ireland and the United States and inviting people to visit Northern Ireland as well.

“We have also, as I’ve outlined, received the material for loan from the Library of Congress, which will be of value, especially to the Public Record Office and its responsibilities and objectives there.”

Sinn Fein MLA Cathy Mason said that “at a time when people are struggling to heat their homes and fill their cars”, the minister was able to find funding for the US250 project and is “yet to demonstrate value for money”.

She said: “It’s OK telling us what you think was good about your trip, but can you actually outline the projected return on investment for these projects and confirm how your department has assessed value-for-money before proceeding with all of these?”

Mr Lyons said business cases for the trip and for the US250 project had been carried out.

He said: “I completely understand that we are living in a difficult period, and people need support, I brought forward that support but I don’t think that we should do that at the expense of arts and culture in Northern Ireland, that we gut those budgets in order to help elsewhere.

“I think that we can do both, we’re going to continue to do both and I think that the promotion of Northern Ireland, getting more people to visit Northern Ireland, and being aware of Northern Ireland, is actually a good thing and something we should all want, something that we should all celebrate.

“Because I hope that we will have visitors that will have been watching the St Patrick’s Day parade on NBC in New York, that will say, ‘I want to come and visit Northern Ireland, that I want to come and visit South Down and that I want to hear more and see more about this place’, so it is worthwhile.

“It’s absolutely something that we should be doing.”

He later added: “I think this is a good investment. We need to continue to do it, and I’ll happily promote the story of St Patrick, his Christian values, and his connection to Down.”