London and Edinburgh blogpost

20th November, 2013

Official visits to London and Edinburgh.

I’m catching up on my posts now. This is a quick update on my recent visit to colleagues in the United Kingdom.

This began with a visit to London. First meeting was with Minister David Liddington, the British Minister for European Affairs. We had a productive and substantive discussion of key priorities. After this I met a group of leading think tanks to discuss current UK policy in relation to the EU.

The evening was focused on a large dinner organised by Enterprise Ireland for Irish companies capable of delivering high growth. Each company brought along guests from companies with whom they were seeking to do business. I was the guest speaker at the event and I worked very hard to support these great companies in their efforts to grow. I was inspired by their efforts.

An early start the next morning to arrive at Edinburgh for a morning meeting with Fiona Hyslop MSP – the Cabinet Secretary for the Scottish Executive. We had an excellent meeting where we discussed ways to grow Scottish Irish relations. After this I was the guest speaker at the Irish Fund Managers Association annual conference. Again I worked hard to support Irish companies in their efforts to increase investment and employment.

I was interviewed by the  Scotsman newspaper on the status of the Irish economy. End of the focused on a lecture to the Europa Institute in the wonderful Edinburgh University. I focused on the contemporary rationale for Europe, Irish EU policy and our European priorities. This led to a great Q&A with a large audience of interested academics, students and members of Scottish society.

Then, home.

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