Mr. Simon McKeever:

Ireland has the highest of food standards.

Ireland's position in global trade is that we are a population of 4.6 million and the Irish economic miracle, bar the past five or six years, has been because we have been an open, trading economy and if any country is an example to put its hand up to say this is what openness and free trade brings, it is us. One needs to be conscious of the fact that we are 4.6 million people while the UK, our nearest and largest trading partner, has a market 15 times the size of ours and the EU has a population of 500 million. Opening the EU market has generated huge growth in Ireland. One needs to think in a global context that 99.93% of the world's population does not live on this island and, therefore, exporting is the lifeblood of growth.

On the costs issue raised by Deputy Durkan, big businesses tend to have global operations that can deal with the different customs and tariffs and non-tariff barriers but if one has a small business and it takes 100 people to run it, one might need to employ another person or to pay a consultant to deal with the barriers. If those barriers do not exist anymore or the regulations are standardised - it is not about deregulation - one does not need to pay to employ that person and, therefore, the business can grow.

On the LDCs, I would like to challenge that point of view because I do not completely agree with it. Rather than having to deal with two sets of standards, it might enable them to trade better because they only have to deal with one set of standards and get their heads around that. If a less developed country has one set of standards to produce its goods and services, surely that will make it easier for the country.

Our members would welcome the TTIP. I agree with Deputy Crowe that while there is not a veil of secrecy about this, the information is not getting out there enough. We have a collective responsibility to get it out there more.

With regard to the impact on FDI, I would be slightly more worried about American tax policy than TTIP.