President Mary McAleese, who is on a two-day visit to England, today met Irish staff working on the 2012 Olympics site in London, describing the preparations as ‘spectacular’.
The President, who was given the tour by the chief executive of the Olympics Development Agency, John Armitt, was accompanied by her husband Martin and leading figures from the Irish Olympic Council, including its president, Pat Hickey.
Some 900 Irish workers are currently working on the East London, while dozens of Irish companies are working as sub-contractors on the project, which is currently employing 9,000 staff.
Paying tribute to the organisers, the President said it has given an opportunity to many highly-qualified Irish construction workers, who have suffered from the economic down-turn in Ireland.
The district, she said, had suffered badly in the years before it was chosen to host the Olympics, but, now, local people are getting the opportunity to work on its construction, while the area is also being cleaned.
So far, work on the project being built on the 260-acre site – despite the difficult winter – is on schedule. Thousands of flats being built to house athletes during the Games will become available subsequently as affordable housing.
Olympics provides a major opportunity for Ireland to attracts thousands of the international visitors who will head to London in 2012 to travel onto Ireland for 'bolt-on' holidays later, Mrs McAleese told The Irish Times.
Later, the President met with the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas and the Irish Chaplaincy for Prisoners. She will visit the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith in Hammersmith this evening before attending a reception in the Irish Embassy in London tonight for leading members of the Irish business and cultural community in London.
She will return to Dublin later tonight.
The President yesterday attended the London Irish match against Harlequins in the Madejski Stadium in Reading.