Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2015
105. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress made by his Department on the ten action points in the Trading and Investing in a Smart Economy strategy and the Action Plan for Irish Trade, Tourism and Investment to 2015, for which his Department is responsible. [28347/15]
View answer“Trading and Investing in a Smart Economy”, the Government Trade, Tourism and Investment Strategy 2010-2015, is being implemented over the course of the current Programme for Government and was reviewed early last year in a process led by my Department and involving other relevant Departments, State agencies and the private sector.
As provided for in the Strategy, the Government established the Export Trade Council (ETC), which I chair, and Local Market Teams chaired by our Ambassadors in priority markets to strengthen cooperation and coordination across all Government Departments and State agencies involved in the promotion and development of trade, tourism and investment.
Following the completion of the Review last year, the original Plan of 25 individual Action Points linked to the achievement of numerical targets was revised into a framework of 16 Action Points. Members of the ETC reported on their activities against individual Action Points most recently at the ETC meeting on 4 November 2014.
I would draw the Deputy's attention to the following examples of progress, made by my Department over the last 18 months, on a selection of the reconfigured Actions Points:
- Build Ireland's profile abroad: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade opened eight new diplomatic missions over the past year across South East Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, which has widened the footprint of Ireland's diplomatic representation and has increased the profile of Ireland in key markets including Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand. These Embassies and Consulates will provide a platform for further promotion of Irish exports, investment, tourism and education.
- Maximise impact of St. Patrick's Day period worldwide: As part of the 'Reputation' theme of the revised Action Plan model, the 2015 St. Patrick's period saw 29 trade focuses visits led by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Ministers. Trade, tourism and investment in Ireland were promoted at 148 dedicated business events, attended by almost 18,000 Irish and international company representatives. As part of the Tourism Ireland “Global Greening” campaign, 170 iconic buildings and landmarks around the world turned green for St. Patrick's Day – in many instances these greenings were achieved due to direct support from the Embassy network.
- Maximise Ireland's access to international markets: My Department works through its Embassy network, and in cooperation with State agencies and the relevant Departments, to facilitate access to markets for Irish companies, including through organising introductions for business leaders, resolving market access barriers or advocating for better access to international markets for Irish products and services. For example, my Department worked closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine towards the reopening of the US and Chinese markets to Irish beef.
- Maximise the impact of integrated trade missions: My Department's Embassy network continues to support Enterprise Ireland's programme of Ministerial-led international trade missions and works closely with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Bord Bia and other State agencies to promote Ireland, Irish companies and Irish products overseas. Ministers attached to my Department have led nine trade missions or trade events in the last 18 months. In the past two months, for example, I led a major trade mission to South Africa and Minister of State Sherlock made trade focused visits to the UK, France and Estonia.
- Maximise opportunities presented by Joint Economic Commissions: My Department manages Joint Economic Commissions (JECs) with four countries, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and China. JECs offer significant opportunities to discuss greater access to international markets for Irish products and services and provide a forum for the resolution of existing market access barriers. JECs were held with Russia and the Republic of Korea in 2014, and it is intended to hold a JEC with China before the end of the year.
- Support overseas networks and maximise engagement with the Diaspora: My Department regularly engages with Irish people overseas in order to ensure that we are leveraging the potential of our diverse and influential Diaspora. An important element of that engagement is the Global Irish Network, a network of 300 of the most influential Irish and Irish-connected people abroad who provide Ireland with valuable international expertise. The Network works closely with the Government and State agencies in promoting Ireland's economic, cultural and tourism messages in key markets. Minister of State Deenihan and I also launched “Global Irish: Ireland's Diaspora Policy” earlier this year, and in November, my Department will host the 4th Global Irish Economic Forum.
The current Government Trade Strategy runs to the end of 2015 and the focus of Departments, the Embassy network and the State Agencies is on its continued implementation over the remainder of its lifetime. My Department, in consultation with the Embassy network and other Government Departments, State agencies and private sector members of the ETC, would propose to conduct a scoping exercise towards the end of the year to examine options for future approaches in the trade, tourism, investment and education areas.
