Vol. 464 No. 1
33 Dr. O'Hanlon asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the follow-up, if any, that has taken place since the Washington Conference to attract investment from the United States to the Border counties; the success, if any, from that conference to date: and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5597/96]
106 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he has satisfied himself that the Washington Conference in 1995 has led to increased investment from the United States in the southern Border counties. [5557/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 106 together.
The Washington Conference provided a prestigeous focus to the ongoing efforts of Forbairt and IDA Ireland to promote industrial investment in the Border counties. At that conference the United States — Ireland Business Partnership was announced. The objective of this partnership is to promote strategic business alliances which will facilitate growth and employment creation in indigenous manufacturing and internationally traded services companies. This is being done by arranging direct contacts between compatible companies in Ireland and the United States.
In November last I led a delegation which included representatives of 26 such companies to Boston, five of whom were from the Border counties. Those representatives were introduced to American counterparts who had been specifically selected in advance because of the compatibility of their business interests and the possibilities of mutual co-operation to facilitate the growth of counterpart companies in this country. There has since been follow-up on these contacts. While negotiations of this kind normally take some time to complete, and while it is too early yet to be definitive on the overall outcome of these contacts, I am confident that arrangements which will benefit Border companies in Ireland in growth and employment terms will emerge.
