Michael Smith
Ceist:22 Mr. M. Smith asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if he has carried out an assessment of the European Commission's major economic policy entitled the White Paper on Growth and Competitiveness. [16857/95]
Written Answers. - Growth and Competitiveness White Paper.
The White Paper, tabled by the Commission at the December 1993 European Council, endeavours to identify an economic strategy, which can effect a major reduction in EU unemployment. The White Paper focuses on three main areas — macroeconomic policy, competitiveness, and employment — overall responsibility for which lies in this country with the Ministers for Finance and Enterprise and Employment in this country. Accordingly I propose to confine my remarks to those areas of the report relating specifically to trade and tourism policy.
The White Paper noted that "Each of the major bursts of growth in the European economies started with a qualitative leap in international trade" and identified the integration of the former communist countries into the world trading system and establishment of the WTO as perhaps the beginning of another burst in economic growth.
Trade statistics published by the Central Statistics Office for the first quarter of 1995, show our exports increasing by 19 per cent in value terms, compared to the same period in 1994 which was a record year with exports to the value of IR£22.789 billion. This performance undoubtedly contributed to the strong performance on employment creation in the recently published Labour Force Survey for 1994.
The economic strategy in the White Paper also emphasised the importance of developing small and medium sized enterprises and stressed the necessity for European firms to have new and innovative products and services. In this regard An Bórd Tráchtála is actively involved in assisting SMEs market their goods and services abroad. Under the Operational Programme for Industrial Development, ABT assists Irish firms to develop new products and packaging to meet international market demands. A new Services Programme is also being prepared by ABT to exploit the potential of the services sector.
Accordingly to the White Paper, one of the comparative advantages which Europe enjoys, is the diversity of its culture and regions. An important aspect of Irish tourism strategy is to market our culture and heritage. Surveys confirm that almost half of all holiday makers visit places of cultural or historic interest. Under the current Tourism Operational Programme, £125 million will be invested in natural/cultural tourism initiatives over the period 1994-99.