Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The commitment to advancing Ireland's trade and economic interests in Europe and internationally is set out in programme A. The amount allocated for the programme in 2015 is €48.6 million, a slight increase on the allocation for 2014. Last year, 19 ministerial-led Enterprise Ireland trade missions took place to countries which have been identified as priority markets for Irish exporting companies. This compares to 18 trade missions in 2013 and 16 in 2012. These were additional to other non-ministerial led Enterprise Ireland trade missions and events. The promotion of Irish trade and investment also featured significantly in the programme of high level visits throughout the year. The latter included the State visits by the President to the UK and China in April and December, respectively, and visits abroad by the Taoiseach and Cabinet Ministers. These trade missions are supported actively by our diplomatic missions on the ground. In the event that a Minister from my Department leads a mission, our trade and promotion division at headquarters is actively involved. The St. Patrick's Day period presents a very important opportunity for promotional activity on the part of our embassy network. In 2014 the Taoiseach, 18 Government Ministers and I undertook 27 programmes across North America. I was not there as a member of Government, but I had the opportunity to act as a substitute. I assure all Ministers and Ministers of State that we will have a full and active programme of positive engagement this year. We intend to maintain a similar level of promotional activity during the 2015 St. Patrick's Day period. The programme is currently being prepared and will be announced in the near future.