Mr. Steve Aiken:

I thank the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for inviting the British Irish Chamber of Commerce to address it. The economic relationship between our islands has never been stronger or more central. The British Irish Chamber of Commerce is a unique business grouping that represents its members' interests on either side of the Irish Sea and the increasingly joint perspectives that span all these islands. In the two years since our formation we have grown from a small 22-member organisation to a broad-based chamber with approximately 200 members, representing companies from one or two-person high technology start-ups up to FTSE 100 quoted corporations. We continue to expand and we expect to double our membership by 2016. Our companies have a turnover of approximately €38 billion and employ approximately 54,000 people on either side of the Irish Sea in sectors as diverse as renewable energy, the arts, agribusiness, financial services, construction, transportation, manufacturing and academia among others.

Our chamber already has more than 70 of the top 100 companies among its members. This should be seen against a backdrop of a trading relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom worth an estimated €54 billion. This economic output and activity makes Ireland the fifth largest market for UK goods and services, while the United Kingdom is Ireland’s third largest market.

As a relatively youthful organisation, we have also had the opportunity to develop into non-traditional sectors such as renewable energy, interactive business support services and new media. We can look at the business space in new and innovative ways and have been able to capitalise on the growing interest of the two Governments in making the economic and commercial links which are central to the future relationship among these Islands. Furthermore, we see a great opportunity for further growth on either side of the Irish Sea as our companies and the State and semi-State bodies with which we co-operate continue to develop and expand in existing markets by using the joint space as a gateway to wider international opportunities. We see our combined joint business space as becoming more integrated, interconnected and interdependent to our mutual advantage. It is important to emphasise that we feel fortunate our respective Governments and State and semi-State agencies have already done so much to support business, especially in the light of the current economic crisis and the tight constraints on budgets. Furthermore, it is noteworthy, as highlighted by last year’s joint statement between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister, that the relationship between these Islands is no longer defined by our culture, history and geography but also by economic links that are important for all of us.

With the majority of UK businesses and business organisations, we are strong advocates of the United Kingdom staying within the Single European Market. We believe our economies abhor uncertainty. Many of our companies are looking intently at making long-term investments, but the uncertainty about UK membership of the European Union could have significant consequences for that process. We believe the Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in particular, will play a major role publicly and in the background to assuage doubts within Britain, reinforce the need for the United Kingdom to remain committed to the European Union and help to interpret the British perspective for our European compatriots. We consider that Britain remaining within the Single European Market is vital for Irish long-term interests, as well as those of the United Kingdom.

The chamber would like the opportunity to discuss three key points covering Ireland, the United Kingdom and the recent output from our conference entitled, Gathering for Action. On the success of Ireland plc, the chamber welcomes the commitment of the Government to trade and business. We note the importance attached to these issues by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, particularly as set out in his Department's statement of strategy for the period 2011 to 2014. Our experience with the Department in Dublin, the Irish Embassy in London, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Bord Bia has been very positive and their assistance to us has been first rate. In particular, we express our members’ appreciation of the efforts of the ambassador, Mr. Bobby McDonagh, and the counsellor, Mr. Eugene Forde, in the embassy in London to support the chamber and our members’ interests. They should be congratulated for their dedication and commitment to Ireland. The role of the Irish Embassy in London is pivotal to Irish companies in gaining access and support in one of the world’s toughest global marketplaces. The embassy regularly hosts events on our behalf, acts as a conduit for Irish companies and provides a venue for events hosted by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Bord Bia. However, as a valuable and heavily utilised resource, it needs to be adequately funded and staffed. After the embassy in Washington, the Irish Embassy in London is our most important diplomatic outpost and should receive the most emphasis, especially in view of the forthcoming debate on the United Kingdom in the European Union.

We are conscious that Ireland has taken the route of supporting trade, inward investment and economic promotion by utilising the very effective organisations of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Bord Bia. Clearly, this is a winning and much admired formula. However, in the UK-Irish context this sometimes leaves some of our smaller businesses dealing with a plethora of agencies rather than being able to work with a single point of contact. The United Kingdom takes a different approach through UK Trade and Investment, UKTI, and the British Embassy network. British embassies and UKTI are now generally fully integrated and act as an empowered and unified authority for the business community, whether those wishing to export from the United Kingdom or those looking to set up business or gain market access in Britain. In Dublin the embassy is fully focused on growing trade and works very closely with us, the local chambers and regional chambers in the United Kingdom. Interestingly, its unified nature also allows it acts as a link for Irish companies with UK subsidiaries or looking to expand into the United Kingdom or further afield. Several Irish companies have been able to link directly with initiatives such as the 2012 UK national infrastructure plan which is looking specifically at transport, energy, communications, water and waste. This is facilitated by UKTI. As with the Irish Embassy in London, the British ambassador in Dublin has been a great asset in promoting UK plc. Through the fully integrated UKTI staff, the embassy has been very effective in targeting new business opportunities.

UKTI covers the full range of businesses and while some of our members believe the Irish agencies place their focus on larger and medium companies, our experience of UKTI in Ireland suggests it is committed to supporting all sectors. UKTI and the embassy also work closely with the chambers movement. In the European context, this includes working with the Council of British Chambers of Europe to more closely align UK Government efforts with those of the local business community. At regional level, the Welsh, Northern Ireland and Scottish Governments work to promote a fully integrated and interconnected approach to business within our all Islands dimension.

The British-Irish Chamber of Commerce held its inaugural annual conference recently in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The event was attended by 300 delegates and addressed by high ranking politicians from both sides of the water, with leading business and industry figures. The subtext of the conference was how business could help the two Governments to deliver on the joint statement and pursue an agenda of jobs, innovation and growth. To facilitate debate, the chamber focused on four key areas, namely, the energy sector, food and agribusiness, culture, arts, sports and tourism and the SME sector. We would like certain deliverables to be incorporated within both Governments’ future agendas and updates to the joint statement. In the food and agribusiness sector we call for further co-operation in terms of knowledge and innovation in higher education, research and business, the promotion of the sharing of best practice in regulation by improving ties with both the FSA and the FSAI and promoting co-operation on the issues of sustainability and food security. There may also be opportunities for combined UK-Irish trade missions but only where they make sense and in sectors that are complementary. In the CAST sector we are asking for the establishment of a detailed databank to build on the array of information services that enable good decision-making and the provision of support. This is a theme that runs across all sectors and we welcome the joint evaluation study being conducted by PA Consulting. The second deliverable is on the theme of joining the dots, with a commitment to create the infrastructure to maximise cross-sectoral awareness of important initiatives and opportunities or, in short, what we call festivalisation. We want initiatives such as The Gathering and major sports and cultural events to provide opportunities to boost business across the entire Irish dimension. The third deliverable concerns Northern Ireland and an acknowledgement of the valuable contribution to community engagement, reconciliation and equality of access and opportunity that can be made through the arts and business.

The break-out session on closer integration of the energy sector culminated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding on renewable energy by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. The intra-island co-operation the document demonstrates is a prime example of the two countries’ new relationship and was a fitting highlight of our first conference. We are calling for the memorandum of understanding to be brought to fruition by turning it into an inter-governmental agreement at the earliest opportunity in order to pump prime investment in this key area. We also want to see a greater commitment to promoting energy efficiency and the introduction of the necessary regulatory framework to promote an all-island energy market. The development of a joint energy strategy across the islands would reduce costs for consumers, allow for greater investment in intelligent technologies and be beneficial for our energy security. The SME sector seeks to make the agencies more SME-friendly by taking a leaf from UKTI’s play book and welcomed the establishment of Connect Ireland as going some of the way towards addressing the issue of marketing Ireland to the SME sector.

In preparing for our submission we canvassed our members who have stated clearly that they believe the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been proactive and innovative in helping Ireland to stem the effects of the global economic crisis. While trade promotion may not have sat naturally within the Department in the past, in common with the approach developed in the United Kingdom, it has adapted quickly. We would like to develop the idea of Team Ireland plc.

We would like to explore the idea of a one-stop shop for inward and outward investment, and partnering of all the agencies, the Department and the chambers may be an area for future exploration. Indeed, Ireland could look at working together with the UK and this could act as a test bed. However, we would advise caution with regard to tampering with the agencies on a wider scale. We have a winning formula, and while we could probably make our approach more efficient and cost-effective, we need to retain our hard-won expertise, networks and global reputation. We would also recommend a continued emphasis on making sure our embassy and agencies in the UK are suitably resourced, in whatever way they are organised.

We also have the opportunity, with the anniversary of the Downing Street statement next month, to continue to progress our economic relationship. Specifically, we recommend the following: that the memorandum of understanding on energy be moved towards an inter-governmental agreement by 2014, thereby releasing significant investment opportunity; that there be a commitment to further co-operation between our islands on innovation and knowledge, joining the parts of the triangle of industry, government and academia across all relevant sectors, not just agri-business; that we align regulation and best practice and co-operate on business opportunities where that makes sense; and that we fully map out our business space, identify the growth areas and understand the constraints and impediments to bringing our economic potential to the fore.

We are also conscious of seeming to present a continuous wish list to the Government. We, as a chamber, represent some of the most dynamic, globally innovative, entrepreneurial and robust companies on these islands, and we have an equal part to play in restoring our economic health. We wish to work in partnership with the Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs, embassies, the agencies, politicians and all other stakeholders to our mutual benefit.

Finally, I thank the Chairman for giving the British Irish Chamber of Commerce the opportunity to make a submission to the committee. I will be happy to answer any questions members may have.