MINISTER for Health Mary Harney's two-week-long trip to New Zealand for St Patrick's Day was likened to 'the Lord of the Rings trail' last week.

"The only thing missing from it is an invitation for dinner hosted by Bilbo Baggins," blasted Labour leader Eamon Gilmore on Thursday, during the annual slanging match over the government ministers' mass exodus to the further reaches of the globe.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen, 10 other cabinet ministers, 11 junior ministers and the Attorney General Paul Gallagher are all abroad this week to represent Ireland with a strong focus on trade, investment and tourism.

Media and opposition criticism of the cost of the exodus has become a St Patrick's Day ritual in recent years. Fianna Fáil senator Paschal Mooney recently accused sections of the media who criticise the trips of "playing to the populous mob". "They don't seem to add up the dots or see that the amount of money spent on such trips is a pittance compared to what flows back," he said.

So are the trips merely junkets for politicians or do they, on the one day we have a unique global platform, result in any tangible trade and enterprise benefits for Ireland Inc?

The Sunday Tribune has obtained statistics from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the IDA and the Department of Foreign Trade relating to each of the ministers' 23 destinations.

The statistics show what percentage of our overall exports go to each country, whether we have a trade deficit or surplus with the country and the number of Irish-born people living there at present.

There are also IDA figures on the level of foreign direct investment into Ireland, in terms of firms setting up here. We have estimated the job creation potential of each trip.

The statistics show that Ireland has a trading relationship with 22 of the 23 destinations, with Lesotho as the one exception.

Minister for Overseas Development Peter Power, is paying a "field visit" to Lesotho to see how Irish Aid funds are being used there.

1. USA

Who's there: Washington DC (Brian Cowen and Micheál Martin), Atlanta (Noel Dempsey), Philadelphia (Mary Hanafin), Houston and Dallas (Pat Carey), New York (Barry Andrews), Boston (Dara Calleary)
% of Ireland's exports: 13.9%
Ireland's trade deficit/surplus (in millions of euro): 21,587 (exports) – 29,039 (imports) = –7,452 (deficit)
No. of Irish people/people of Irish descent living there: 42 million claim Irish origins, 124,000 Irish-born
Foreign direct investment (no of companies here): 471
Job creation potential: 10/10

2. Canada

Who: Dara Calleary, Toronto
Exports: 0.6%
Trade: 963 (exports) – 635 (imports) = 328 (surplus)
Irish people: 22,300
Investment: 16
Jobs: 5/10

3. Germany

Who: Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf
Exports: 8.3%
Trade: 12,939 (exports) – 7,710 (imports) = 5,229 (surplus)
Irish people: 10,500-11,000
Investment: 100
Jobs: 8/10

4. Italy

Who: Brendan Smith, Rome, Milan
Exports: 4.8%
Trade: 7,521 (exports) – 3,647 (imports) = 3,874 (surplus)
Irish people: 3,000
Investment: 29
Jobs: 6/10

5. France

Who: Dermot Ahern, Paris
Exports: 6.4%
Trade: 9,914 (exports) – 5,831 (imports) = 4,083 (surplus)
Irish people: 25,000-30,000
Investment: 46
Jobs: 8/10

6. New Zealand

Who: Mary Harney, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington
Exports: 0.1%
Trade: 126 (exports) – 55 (imports) = 71 (surplus)
Irish people: 12,000
Investment: 3
Jobs: 3/10

7. Japan

Who: Batt O'Keefe, Tokyo
Exports: 1.8%
Trade: 2,774 (exports) – 1,612 (imports) = 1,162 (surplus)
Irish people: 1,800
Investment: 24
Jobs: 6/10

8. South Korea

Who: Batt O'Keeffe, Seoul
Exports: 0.6%
Trade: 915 (exports) – 533 (imports) = 382 (surplus)
Irish people: 440
Investment: 2
Jobs: 3/10

9. Austria

Who: Eamon O Cuiv, Vienna
Exports: 0.6%
Trade: 862 (exports) – 539 (imports) = 323 (surplus)
Irish people: 1,000
Investment: 4
Jobs: 4/10

10. Poland

Who: Eamon Ó Cuív, Warsaw
Exports: 11%
Trade: 1,634 (exports) – 747 (imports) = 887 (surplus)
Irish people: 1,000
Investment: n/a
Jobs: 8/10

11. Britain

Who: John Curran, London and Birmingham; John Moloney, Edinburgh and Glasgow
Exports: 20.8%
Trade: 32,437 (exports) – 30,579 (imports) = 1858 (surplus)
Irish people: 750,000 Irish-born, 1.7m to Irish parents
Investment: 106
Jobs: 10/10

12. China

Who: Michael Finneran, Beijing
Exports: 1.9%
Trade: 3,033 (exports) – 4,297 (imports) = – 1,264 (deficit)
Irish people: 3,000
Investment: 2
Jobs: 8/10

13. Australia

Who: Billy Kelleher, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth
Exports: 0.9%
Trade: 1,376 (exports)– 434 (imports) = 942 (surplus)
Irish people: 80,000
Investment: 10
Job creation: 5/10

14. India

Who: Eamon Ryan, New Delhi and Mumbai
Exports: 0.4%
Trade: 559 (exports) – 348 (imports) = – 211 (deficit)
Irish people: 200
Investment: 4
Jobs: 7/10

15. Russia

Who: Dick Roche, Moscow
Exports: 1.1%
Trade: 1,726 (exports)– 358 (imports)= 1,368 (surplus)
Irish people: 300
Investment: 2
Jobs: 5/10

16. Denmark

Who: Aine Brady
Exports: 0.8%
Trade: 1,270 (exports) – 1,343 (imports) = –73 (deficit)
Irish people: 1,500
Investment: 6
Jobs: 5/10

17. Sweden

Who: Aine Brady
Exports: 1.5%
Trade: 2,299 (exports) – 877 (imports) = 1,422 (surplus)
Irish people: 1,500
Investment: 12
Jobs: 6/10

18. Norway

Who: Aine Brady
Exports: 0.7%
Trade: 1,157 (exports) – 1,517 (imports) = -360 (deficit)
Irish people: 1,500
Investment: 2
Jobs: 5/10

19. Belgium

Who: Martin Mansergh
Exports: 8.8%
Trade: 13,706 (exports) – 2,786 (imports) = 10,920 (surplus)
Irish people: 12,000
Investment: 15
Jobs: 8/10

20. Netherlands

Who: Martin Mansergh
Exports: 3.8%
Trade: 5,958 (exports) – 10,183 (imports) = -4,225 (deficit)
Irish people: 5,500
Investment: 36
Jobs: 7/10

21. South Africa

Who: Peter Power
Exports: 0.5%
Trade: 850 (exports) – 417 (imports) = 433 (surplus)
Irish people: 4,000
Investment: 3
Jobs: 4/10

22. Lesotho

Who: Peter Power
Exports: 0%
Trade: 0
Irish people: n/a
Investment: Nil
Jobs: Nil

23. U.A.E.

Who: Paul Gallagher (AG), Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Exports: 0.5%
Trade: 714 (exports) – 140 (imports) = 574 (surplus)
Irish people: 4,000-5,000
Investment: n/a
Jobs: 5/10

LEGEND - Each entry refers to

Who's there: Which minister is going where
Exports: percentage of our total exports
Trade: our exports to that country in millions of euro, minus our imports from there, with an overall surplus or deficit
Irish people: number of Irish born people living there. Some entries note the number who claim Irish origins
Investment: number of firms from that country that operate here
Job: rating out of ten for potential to create jobs here