So Minister Harney is in New Zealand early for St Patrick’s Day on Government business. According to the Department of Health and Children, her itenerary is as follows:
(Some names and venue details have been omitted)
Tuesday 9 March – Auckland
Rest morning
4.30pm
Official Briefing
7.00pm
Dinner with members of Irish Community
Wednesday 10 March – Auckland
9.30am
Depart Hotel for Manukau City. (Transport – Minivan)
10.00am – 1:00pm
Visit Kidz First Childrens Hospital in Manukau City
Discussion: Paediatric links with the community, and linking with general practice to reduce acute demand on hospitals
Return to hotel
2.45pm
Meeting with Mayor of Manukau City
3.45pm
Meet with members of Irish Community in Auckland
7.30pm
Dinner with Enterprise Ireland Irish Company and clients
Thursday 11 March – Auckland
8.40am
Depart hotel (Transport – Minivan)
9.00am – 10:00am
Meeting with Professor in Dept of Paediatrics: Child and Youth Health, University of Auckland at Auckland City Hospital.
Discussion on Child Health Research
10.30am – 12.00
Chief Executive of the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Director of both the Auckland Chamber and NZ Chambers of Commerce & Industry, and Secretary-General of NZ’s National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce.
2.15pm
NZ Members of the Global Irish Network
4.00pm
Meet with Mayor of Waitakere City. Waitakere City has a sister city friendship agreement with Galway City.
5.30pm
Reception jointly hosted by Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland with senior representatives of Auckland based companies, tourism and trade, already with links to Ireland or with potential.
7.30pm
Interview with journalist
Friday 12 March – Auckland
9.30am Depart hotel (Transport – Minivan)
10.00am – 1.30pm
Meeting with
- GM of Starship Childrens Health and National Womens Hospital
- Director of Child Health, Paediatric Emergency Dept, Starship Childrens Hospital, Auckland City
- Developmental Paediatrician, Paediatric Neurology, Starship Childrens Hospital, Auckland City
Discussion:
- Speciality nurse out-reach programme
- Emergency department performance management and wait targets
- Adult – paediatric – maternity tri-location
- Examples of process improvements, and IT use, medication safety
- The promotion of patient safety and the assurance of quality
2.00pm to 5pm
Meet with Head of School of Population
Discussion:
- Disease risk factor trends
- Getting ahead of the chronic disease trends
- Screening policy
5.30pm
Dinner hosted by Honorary Consul (Transport Minivan)
10.00pm Return to hotel
Saturday 13 March – Auckland
11.30am
Walk to assembly point of Parade
12.00pm
Participate in Auckland’s St Patrick’s Parade
1.00pm
Parade concludes
1.45pm
Return to hotel
6.00pm
Attend St Patrick’s festival banquet
Guests of Honour – NZ Prime Minister.
Attendance of 400.
The Prime Minister will speak for five minutes and propose a toast to St Patrick. The Minister to respond with an equal duration speech and propose a toast to the Irish and the friends of the Irish in New Zealand. The audience will be a cross-section of the local community, predominately with Irish connections and many leaders in their particular fields of endeavour.
7.45pm
The Prime Minister is introduced
7.50pm
Prime Minister speaks
7.55pm
Minister Harney is introduced
7.56pm
Minister speaks
8.00pm
MC thanks and evening continues
Sunday 14 March – Auckland – Wellington
11.30am
Depart hotel
12.00pm
Live interview on community radio programme.
1.00pm
Attend Irish Community Field Day
4.30pm
Depart Auckland to Wellington
5.30pm
Arrive Wellington
Transfer to hotel
6.30pm
Depart hotel
6.30pm – 8:00pm
Reception with Wellington Irish Society
8.30pm
Dinner hosted by Honorary Consul
Return to hotel
Monday 15 March – Wellington
9am to 10am
Meet with Minister of Trade
10.30am to11.30am
Meeting with Enterprise Ireland Company and Ministry of Social Development
2.00pm – 4:00pm
Meeting with Pharmac
4.15 to 5pm
Meeting with Minister of Health and other health officials
5.00pm – 6.15pm
Parlimentary Reception, hosted by Prime Minister,and other NZ Ministers will also be in attendance.
6.30pm – 8.00pm
Meeting with Hutt Valley Irish Society (Transport – Minivan)
8.30pm
Dinner hosted by Minister for Health
Return to hotel
Tuesday 16 March – Wellington – Auckland
10am to 11.30am
Meet with Chief Advisor, Sector Capability
11.30am to 1pm
Meet with Director General of Health and Chief Executive of Ministry for Health
Discussion:
- Patient Safety and Quality
- Performance management/National Health Index
- Licencing (Legal basis for opening practice/facility)
- Credentialling
1.45pm
Meet at main entrance to Parliament
2.00pm
Visit and be presented to NZ Parliament
5.30pm
Meeting with members of NZ Ireland Parliamentary Friendship Group
7.30pm
Depart for Wellington airport
8.30pm
Depart Wellington to Auckland
9.30pm
Arrive Auckland
Transfer to hotel
Wednesday 17 March – Auckland
9.00am
Interview at hotel with journalist
10.30am
Depart hotel
11.00am
Attend St Patrick’s Day mass at the Auckland Irish Society followed by AIS President
Return to hotel
5.15pm
Depart hotel
5.30pm
Attend St Patrick’s Day Consular reception. 200 guests including a representative of the NZ Prime Minister, the Mayors, or representatives of the four regions of Auckland and the Chairman of the Auckland Regional Council, the Dean of the Auckland Consular Corps.
Mayor of Auckland City, will propose a toast to the President and the people of Ireland. The Minister to respond.
7.00pm
Reception concludes
Thursday 18 March – Auckland – Christchurch
8.45am
Depart hotel( Consular car + Taxi)
10.05am
Depart Auckland Domestic Airport on to Christchurch
11.25am
Arrive Christchurch
Transfer to hotel (Transport –Minivan)
1.40pm
Depart hotel
2.00pm – 4:00pm
Meetings at Pegasus Health, Christchurch
Return to hotel (Transport –Minivan)
6.15pm
Depart hotel (Transport –Minivan)
6.30pm – 8.00pm
Meeting with Christchurch Irish Society
Return to hotel
Friday 19 March – Christchurch
9.15am
Depart hotel
9.30am to 11.30am
Visit NZ Antarctic Heritage Trust and Antarctic Centre
12.30 to 4pm
Primary Care accessing the peripheral community
Saturday 20 March – Christchurch – Auckland
Return to Auckland in afternoon
Sunday 21 March
10.00am
Depart hotel for airport – Government car and taxi
12.25pm
Minister and party depart New Zealand to Sydney
Photo by raymond crowley on Flickr (CC)
This is a total waste of TAXPAYERS money. the minister should be in IRELAND where she is PAID to do her work on HEALTH MATTERS not trying to show of fin Newzealand. with very insignifficent matters that have more to do with enterprise than health
VERY ANNOYED TAXPAYER
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I am Irish and moved to New Zealand a year ago. I think it’s great the minister is here for the St Patricks festivities. New Zealand has a huge Irish community and it will raise the profile of Ireland to people here to go and visit. So there is yet another crisis in Ireland and incompetence by the HSE…what a surprise, if everyone stopped everything they were doing for every crisis, nothing would ever get done. Like it or not we have to raise our profile or we aren’t going to get any tourists. The doom and gloom of Ireland and it’s depression has been heard far and wide, we need to fix it now or we’ll never get out of the recession.
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Regarding the previous comments by Aine, I completely disagree, I also live in NZ, and have heard nothing in the NZ media about Mary Harney’s visit, only found out that she was here , through the Irish media from Ireland.
Yet again a complete waste of Irish Taxpayers money.
Lady Gaga got more media coverage in New Zealand over the past week, than Mary Harney did.
it doent make a fifferance where she is!!
as she is no bloody good,
waste of space!!
Ms Harney is just one of the government wasting money that the Irish people are now suffering to pay back. if Mary Harney had to live our normal week wages she would not be able to do it never mind trying to live on the minimum dole payments we are now meant to live on.