[REUTERS] IRISH MINISTER UNVEILS AMBITIOUS NEW PROPOSALS TO BOOST AILING ECONOMY

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[REUTERS] IRISH MINISTER UNVEILS AMBITIOUS NEW PROPOSALS TO BOOST AILING ECONOMY

By Patrick O'Ryan 

DUBLIN | Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:19pm GMT

Jimmy Deenihan, Ireland's Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, has unveiled major new plans that could see visitors to the emerald isle triple in number over the next four years. The daring proposals include an innovative tourist-attraction trading scheme, enabling EU member states to lend iconic landmarks to the stricken Irish state. The news comes as Ireland's credit rating has been slashed to "junk status" by ratings agency Moody's.

Deenihan unveiled the "European Cultural-Trade Agreement" at a summit in Brussels late this afternoon, stating that "no europe-wide agreement has ever been made on a scale such as this, and never has such an agreement been as important to the Irish tourist industry as this." The deal, said to be worth billions of euro to the Irish economy, could be fast-tracked, with the first attractions arriving as soon as next summer. 

Pressed on what landmarks could be expected, Deenihan said that "substantial agreements" with the French government has led to the strong possibility that the Eiffel Tower will be brought to Ireland, and constructed in the heart of celtic tiger Dublin: the ill-fated Docklands area. Deenihan declined to comment on any other deals as negotiations "are still in the process of resolution", but backroom insiders suggest that part of the Berlin Wall will be brought to Tipperary in 2013, and that Trafalgar Square could be released on loan for potential display in 2014 in either Waterford or Cavan. 

The planned site for the Eiffel Tower's visit to Ireland in Dublin's Docklands.

There are also unconfirmed reports that the Irish government will have to agree to concessions from the lender countries. France and Germany's demands for a review of Ireland's attractive corporation tax rate is said to be heavily linked with the European Cultural-Trade Agreement, although Deenihan remains tight-lipped about the possibility of expected renumeration to lender states, stating "we are all friends in Europe, we all have common interests in seeing Ireland succeed as a nation." Quizzed about the cost of such an operation to the taxpayer, the Minister stated that the transport costs are "surprisingly affordable."

Enda Kenny, in an appearance this evening at the Irish house of government in Dublin, welcomed the agreement, announcing that "Ireland's economic famine will soon be over."

Edited by Henry Jackson

Reporting by Patrick O'Ryan