Mr. Brendan Butler:

We see the EU Presidency as important. It is an important six months in terms of brand Ireland. I sense that at European level, while we were seen as a difficult country some years ago, a great deal of effort has gone into trying to restore Ireland's international reputation.

It is our sense the Presidency affords a great opportunity and to that end IBEC has been working closely with the Departments of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Africa offers tremendous opportunities for investment in infrastructure. We now accept that the economy was built on a false premise in terms of its over-reliance on the construction sector. Part of our report dealt with opportunities for Irish companies to gain access to some of the major expenditure on infrastructure. However, Deputy Durkan made a critical point. When we speak about trade, exports and foreign direct investment, we tend to mean the major American companies, but in the past five to ten years we have developed a range of Irish-owned multinationals. The Deputy referred specifically to Glen Dimplex, but other companies include CRH with its 75,000 employees.