Radical alterations to Bord Failte's tourism logo would have cost taxpayers £2 million to £3 million, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid, told the Dail.

He also wanted "to dispel any misconceptions there might be about cross-Border relations". He told deputies who questioned the decision to withdraw the logo agreed by Bord Failte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board that tourism co-operation between the North and South remained very strong.

The actual cost of the changes made to give more prominence to the shamrock in promotional material was "less than £100,000", Dr McDaid said, although deputies described the resulting shamrock in the new logo as "moth-eaten" and "withered".

The £3 million bill would have arisen because of existing contractual commitments, he told Mr Bernard Allen (FG, Cork North Central).