Batt O'Keeffe
Ceist:14 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he has satisfied himself that the business partnership scheme will yield positive results for Irish small businesses. [18403/95]
Written Answers. - Washington Conference.
James Leonard
Ceist:22 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the Government Departments and State agencies who met in the follow-up to the Washington Conference. [18300/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 22 together. I presume that Deputy Leonard is referring to the White House Conference for Trade and Investment in Ireland which was held in Washington DC in May 1995, and that Deputy O'Keeffe is referring to United States-Ireland Business Partnership Initiative which was announced at the conference.
The new initiative is designed to utilise the resources and networks of both Forbairt and the American Small Business Administration (SBA) in order to arrange face to face meetings between Irish manufacturing and internationally traded services companies and potential US business partners, with the objective of promoting and facilitating strategic alliances and business partnerships leading to growth and increased employment. These may be in the form of technology transfer, licensing agreements, sub-contract manufacturing, distribution agreements, joint marketing arrangements or some other form of mutually beneficial business partnership.
Details on the operation of the initiative were finalised directly between the two agencies in June 1995. I subsequently led a mission of 26 Irish companies to Boston in November 1995. The Irish companies were introduced to pre-selected American companies, and there has since been an ongoing follow-up programme to develop and progress the contacts made. Second phase discussions are expected to take place in a very substantial number of cases, and Forbairt is proactively working with the Irish companies to develop their contacts, formulate partnership proposals and conduct negotiations as appropriate. Such negotiations often take a significant amount of time from initial contact to implementation of business agreements, and it is too early yet to forecast what level of success will be achieved. However, the new initiative has the full support of both the Irish and American Governments, and I am confident that the initiative will result in successful partnership arrangements for both Irish and American companies who participate in it.
The Forbairt/International Fund for Ireland North American Partnership Programme is specifically designed to promote strategic business partnerships between American companies and high technology companies in the Border counties. As a result of progress made following the Washington Conference, I was able to announce the first three successes under this Programme at the Boston Trade Mission in November 1995, and a number of other negotiations are taking place between potential partners.
Also after the Washington Conference, Forbairt was involved with my Department, the Department of Tourism and Trade, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, An Bord Tráchtála, Bord Bia and Bord Fáilte, in assisting the US Embassy to arrange a programme for the Business Match-maker Mission of 16 US companies which visited Northern Ireland and the Border region in October 1995. This mission was led by Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Commerce, Mr. Chuck Meissner, and a number of negotiations on new business partnership agreements are now taking place as a result. A further trade and investment conference in the US is planned for later this year.
Another new initiative to emerge from the Washington Conference is the American Management and Business Internship Training Programme (AMBIT). This programme, which is sponsored by the US Department of Commerce in collaboration with the International Fund for Ireland, and is administered by Forbairt in the Border counties, and by the Training and Development Agency in Northern Ireland, is designed to offer hands-on training in US host firms for managers and technical experts with the objective of providing such key personnel access to new technology, product development opportunities and best management practices, as well as encouraging the formation of inter-company strategic alliances.
By way of further follow-up to the Washington Conference, my Department's office of science and technology and the Industrial Research and Technology Unit in Northern Ireland have obtained the support of the International Fund for Ireland for a new Research and Development Programme to be known as "Radius". This programme will specifically support joint product development projects between companies from either side of the Border and companies in the United States. My Department is also working with the US Department of Commerce to develop greater co-operation in science and technology activities of potential economic benefit on both sides of the Atlantic.
All of these new initiatives are of course additional to the sophisticated and comprehensive range of industrial supports available from Forbairt to industry throughout the country on an ongoing basis.
While the major potential for new industrial development to emerge from the Washington Conference is in the area of linkage, partnership and joint venture type agreements, IDA Ireland has been following up on all potential leads and opportunities for new inward US investment projects. Details of new inward investment projects to the border region were given in my reply in the House on 21 November 1995.