Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2020
92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which alternative markets continue to be found for Irish products in view of the impact of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16008/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which efforts continue to be made to identify new markets throughout the European Union and globally for Irish exports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16011/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 95 together.
Ireland's overall export performance over the last 10 years has been marked by year-on-year growth with total exports of goods and services reaching further record levels of €366Bn in 2019.
While the UK is and will remain a major market for Irish companies, expanding the Irish export footprint in markets beyond the UK is a key priority. In that context, Enterprise Ireland’s strategy is to support Irish exporters to be more innovative, competitive and market diversified.
The Irish exporting landscape has been strong and companies in Ireland have been succeeding in winning business worldwide for their products and services. Enterprise Ireland client companies achieved record levels of exports in 2018 (latest year for which figures are available) of €23.8bn, against the backdrop of Brexit uncertainty. In 2018, the Eurozone region, which is a key focus of Enterprise Ireland’s diversification strategy, saw growth of 7.6% to €4.8bn, with Germany, France and the Netherlands each exceeding €1bn in exports. Exports to North America increased from €3.87bn in 2017 to €4.08bn in 2018, an increase of 5.5%. Our Enterprise agencies are now opening new offices around the world to support our companies in competing and thriving in global markets.
Ministerial-led Trade Missions have supported the Government's major drive towards market diversification. The majority of trade missions in recent years have taken place to the Eurozone, North America and Asia Pacific, which represented the strongest growth opportunities for Irish companies. These Trade Missions focused on promoting the innovative capabilities and competitive offerings of Irish companies to international buyers in sectors including internationally traded services, fintech, high-tech construction, engineering, ICT and lifesciences. Trade Missions will resume as soon as is practicable. In the meantime, promotion of our companies abroad will continue through the work of our State agencies, and in particular their offices located on the ground internationally.
As well as the global efforts supported by our agencies, key to our success has been our commitment to trade liberalisation in order to open new markets for our indigenous sectors. The EU has successfully concluded a number of important trade agreements with trading partners and is in the process of negotiating or upgrading its agreements with many more. The existing suite of EU Free Trade Agreements and new trade deals will continue to be very important for Ireland. With a small domestic market, further expansion in other markets is essential to our continued economic growth and, in this regard, Ireland will continue to support the EU’s ambitious programme of negotiating new Free Trade Agreements, opening new markets for Irish companies and increasing export and investment opportunities.
