It is great to have the opportunity to talk about the craft sector in Ireland. I will outline where the craft sector is at and some of the programmes in which the crafts council is involved to give members a flavour of the level of activity and vibrancy of the crafts sector. The sector is a significant one. It contributes €498 million to the Irish economy and employs more than 5,700 people throughout the country. Employment in the sector is spread across the country including in rural areas and it contributes to the local economies The majority of the businesses in the sector are microenterprises but there are some economies of scale. The types of businesses in the sector include disciplines in ceramics, textiles, blacksmithing, jewellery, wood turning and furniture.
The craft council is a membership organisation. It has 72 member organisations including professional organisations such as the Made in Kilkenny group, the Cream of Irish Design, Irish Artists Blacksmiths Association and so on. We serve 2,700 craft enterprise clients who are spread throughout the country but have a rural base.
A number of the main programmes in which we are involved include Showcase, Ireland's Creative Expo, to which the Chairman referred. It is probably the biggest international trade event in the craft and gift sector in Ireland and it has been running for more than 36 years. Some €20 million in sales is placed at this event over a four-day period and some 5,000 buyers, 1,000 of whom are international, attend. It presents an export opportunity for many of our makers. There are 400 exhibitors at this trade event, 177 of whom are craft clients. The members will have received the Creative Island book, which showcases the level of clients who exhibit at that showcase. This year we placed an emphasis on fashion and we will continue to develop that area along with interiors. We also support retail and direct selling in Ireland. We are delighted to announce that Arnotts opened an Irish Craft Collective outlet in June in which the products of more than 20 makers are being sold. We support some 120 shops throughout the country which sell Irish products.
In terms of direct selling, we have been involved with the Irish craft village at the Bloom festival and the National Craft and Design Fair. The formula of the combination of retail units, demonstrations of craft and children's workshops works very well in terms of engaging and promoting craft to the general public.
In terms of international events, we brought a group of Irish jewellery makers to the Inhorgenta international jewellery trade show in Germany this year which was attended by more than 44,000 buyers. We will bring a group of makers to the London Design Festival in September and that will lead to the fit out of the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels for Ireland's holding of the EU Presidency, at which the very best of Irish craft and design will be showcased.
The collector market is an important one for our sector. There is the National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny and the Irish Craft Portfolio book, a copy of which, hopefully, members will have received, which show the finest work of the different craftspeople at the high level. We are involved in bringing people to international events at the high end of contemporary craft.
We have an educational remit across primary, secondary and third level. At the primary level we have our CRAFTed programme, marrying teachers with craftspeople to transfer the skills on to children. That programme was rolled out nationwide in 2011 when the educational centres came on board as partners. We have a similar programme for second level. We have outreach workshops run through the National Craft Gallery and at different events throughout the country. We have two courses in Kilkenny, a goldsmithing skills and design course and a ceramics skills and design course, both of which are accredited at level 7. They are probably the finest of their type in Europe, from which there is an employment rate of more than 90% in terms of people setting up their own business or going into direct employment. We also run a future makers award.
Part of our role very much involves promoting craft as much as we can, promoting it to the general public - last year was the Year of Craft - and when we do this, we get tangible results. In a Lansdowne Market Research in 2010, a survey which we conduct every year, 39% of those interviewed said they were interested in buying Irish crafts. After the Year of Craft, that level of interest increased to 51%. There is a growing awareness and appreciation of Irish crafts and because of the recession people want to support local craft businesses and we saw that in the run up to Christmas last year and throughout the year. Profiling is an important element of what we do.
Innovation is important for the crafts sector in term of cluster development. There has been a rise in self-organised clusters throughout the country and we are partnering the Irish Leader development companies to examine clustering in regions throughout the country and the benefits that would accrue from that.
Under enterprise development, we are working with the clients, the county enterprise boards and the Leader companies to deliver skills around product design, innovation, examining innovative ways of making and in the process ensuring that we are not duplicating a service but providing a specific service.
In terms of international links, we have an exciting programme, Innocrafts programme, which is focused on new ways of working and developing policies for SMEs, linking in with Enterprise Ireland, the county enterprise boards and the different universities including WIT and UCD.
Looking forward to the future, we are involved in various programmes, including Ireland's EU Presidency in 2013 and The Gathering in 2013. The year 2013 will be the 50th anniversary of the Kilkenny Design Workshops, having regard to the legacy it has in terms of design for Ireland. In 2014 Ireland will host the International Academy of Ceramics. I have circulated the key points for discussion but essentially a key point is the potential for craft in terms of exporting, its internationalisation and having an online presence. I spoke briefly about the potential of clustering developments around the country, the potential of skills development and growing that in partnership with the universities, FÁS and the different organisations that are in place, and developing policies for the SMEs at local level. There are challenges facing the sector, similar to those that face most small businesses. One is the cost of doing business. Because most of our clients have small businesses that employ only one or two people they cannot avail of the national internship scheme or practically any such schemes. In terms of the current VAT rate, because the work in which craftspeople are involved is labour intensive, instead of it being value added, the VAT is a tax on the labour. As Ireland will hold the EU Presidency, it will present opportunities to support and show the great quality of craft and design in Ireland.