Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have received apologies from Senator Jim Walsh, who is unable to be with us. Draft minutes of the meeting of 13 February have been circulated to all members. Are the minutes of 13 February agreed? Agreed. Unless there are any matters arising from the minutes we will proceed with the main business of the meeting.

The main reason we are here this afternoon is to consider the matter of trade promotion and the role the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in economic recovery. We will hear a presentation by the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. We are joined by two representatives of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Steve Aiken, chief executive, and Ms Emily Glen, research associate. You are both very welcome. Mr. Aiken and Ms Glen are here to offer the views of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce on trade promotion. This meeting is in the context of a series of meetings and other activities that the committee will be undertaking in respect of trade promotion and the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in economic recovery.

The organisation represents the interests of a broad range of businesses on both sides of the Irish Sea focused on Ireland and Britain and the joint economic space within the islands. Its broadly-based membership allied with a comprehensive approach seeks to understand the influence of the wider environment in which its members operate. This puts the organisation in a good position to reflect on how official Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in particular can help to improve our trading relationship with one of our most important export markets.

The British Irish Chamber of Commerce is a relatively new organisation. This is rather surprising; I had thought such a chamber of commerce would have been in existence for many years. It has the ambition of becoming the main focal point for British-Irish business and the associated economic community.

The inaugural annual conference took place last month and was a successful step in the right direction. Since the British Irish Chamber of Commerce is a young organisation we hope it can bring some new perspectives on the matters the committee is examining. The aim of the committee's examination is to prepare and publish a report on the strategy and response of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the economic crisis, to the Department's newly-recognised responsibilities in trade promotion and to the programme for Government in terms of trade promotion and economic recovery, and how well the Department is performing in these respects.

Before I invite our witnesses to make their presentation I wish to advise them that they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of utterances at this committee. However, if you are directed by the committee to cease making remarks on a particular issue and you continue to so do, you are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of your remarks. You are directed that only comments and evidence in respect of the subject matter of this meeting is to be given and you are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, you should not criticise or make charges against a Member of either Houses of the Oireachtas, a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

Without further ado I call on Steve Aiken to make a presentation on behalf of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. You are very welcome.