Government Ministers will attend St Patrick's Day celebrations in locations from the United States to South America. A majority of the Cabinet, including the Taoiseach who will be in Washington, will be abroad for the holiday. Mr Ahern will be joined in the White House by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, and Minister of State, Ms Liz O'Donnell.
The United States is the most popular destination for Ministers. The Minister for Education, Dr Woods, will be in New York. The Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey, will be in Los Angeles as will the Minister for State for Agriculture, Mr Noel Davern.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, will be in Savannah, Georgia, where he will attend the Savannah parade. The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera will be in New Orleans.
The Minister of State for Finance, Mr Martin Cullen, will be attending functions in Boston. The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Ned O'Keeffe, attended festivities in St Louis, Missouri, last weekend.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, left last Tuesday for Lebanon and Syria, where he has been visiting Defence Forces personnel serving with the UN. His visit continues until Sunday.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has been on an official visit to Argentina and Uruguay since last Saturday. The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid, will be in France from Saturday. The Minister of State for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, will also be in Paris.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, has been in Cheltenham since Tuesday and will attend the final day of the national hunt festival tomorrow.
The Minister of State for Energy, Mr Joe Jacob, will be in Scotland. The Minister of State for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Mr Eoin Ryan, will be in London.
Among those remaining at home on St Patrick's Day are the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, who will attend parades in her Westmeath constituency, and several Ministers of State including Mr Danny Wallace in Cork, Mr Willie O'Dea in Limerick and Mr Hugh Byrne in Wexford. The Minister of State, Mr Noel Treacy, will review parades in his East Galway constituency before going to Croke Park for the All-Ireland GAA club finals.
Three Cabinet Ministers have no official functions on St Patrick's Day. These are the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, the Minister for Education, Mr Martin, and the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.