Mr. Frank Ryan:

I will take the first question and then I will ask Mr. Tom Hayes, who has been centrally involved in the work on the CEBs becoming LEOs, to take the second part of the question because it would be more informative that way.

I have seen huge changes over the ten years in ambition and in innovation. There has been considerable progress on leadership among the senior management teams of the companies and considerable progress on export spread, or on our international trading footprint. If one goes back ten years to 2003, essentially, 50% of everything we exported from the indigenous companies went to the UK. That percentage is now down to 38%, notwithstanding that exports to the UK have increased by €1.5 billion in the meantime. Exports to the UK have grown, as have those outside the UK. Now 62% of our exports do not go to the UK.

The end of 2012 saw us, for the first time, break through the €1 billion barrier in terms of exports to Asia and the €0.5 billion barrier in terms of the Middle East. As I leave Enterprise Ireland, I am full of pride for the Irish companies which have gone to the coalface and made this happen. The increased exports about which we speak, of €16.2 billion, maintain employment and create jobs in Ireland and those companies are to be commended. I thank the Deputy for the kind words but I would say that I am surrounded by a great team of people at Enterprise Ireland who have gone out of their way to really deliver and they are a credit to the public sector.