Mr. Hugh Kelly:

To set the scene, I will explain the basis on which we are making our submission. I note many members will know about the Irish Exporters Association but it is the independent representative body for all exporters and we offer a range of practical help and support to Irish exporters under three main pillars. We act as the voice of the Irish export industry, we are a source of practical knowledge and we are a connecting force for Irish exporters. What sets us apart from some of the other agencies which act in this space is that we represent the whole spectrum of companies within the export industry, including SMEs, which are beginning to think about exporting for the first time, right through to global multinational companies, which are already exporting extensively from Ireland.

The Asia trade forum was an initiative we established within the IEA in 2011. Its strategy supported a clear vision to help promote and increase two way trade between Ireland and Asia. It was funded by partners from the private sector such, as Ulster Bank, Etihad and FCm Travel Solutions. The forum was, and continues to be, a successful example of collaboration between the private sector, led by ourselves at the IEA, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and State agencies, in particular, Enterprise Ireland.

We all want to see Ireland emerge as one of Asia’s preferred trading partners. In 2011, only 4% of Irish exports went to Asia compared to exports of between 20% and 25% which went to our EU neighbours. We suggested a target of 8% by 2016. We set out a plan and learned from it. There were three elements to our strategy. The first one was to help Irish businesses to get to know Asia better and for Asia to get to know Ireland better. The second was to connect experienced practitioners to inspire and assist others to realise their potential in the markets and to build efficiently on their success without repeating too many failures. The third was to highlight to Government the obstacles to Irish trade growth and to work closely with policymakers and State agencies to remove them.

What have we learned and what have been our successes? More than 1,000 companies have attended and participated at Asia trade forum events over the past four years. We have organised business visits to China, Malaysia and India and we have worked with the Asia-Pacific Irish business forum to increase collaboration. We have also worked with local chambers in Asia to unlock what we believe are powerful networks for Irish businesses. We have also supported and worked closely with UCD, UL and UCC on student programmes to increase knowledge of Asian languages, culture and business. With some success, we have helped lobby for improved visa access for Asian visitors.

Most important, and something from which we have learned, is that these initiatives have introduced practitioners to practitioners and provided a soft introduction so that off stage they can then talk one on one and share real stories about what they have done in Asia.

They can talk about the mistakes they have made. We all learn far more from failure than we do from success, or apparent easy success. That is a key element and an important point to consider in any initiative in which we are trying to learn from each other. We are delighted that by the end of 2014 Ireland's total exports to Asia passed the 8% target. We hope and believe we have played a part in that. There is room for much greater growth in our trade with Asia. New Zealand is an example of that and we want to champion and work with Government to achieve more ambitious goals and to develop and extend that Asia trade forum template.

We have a unique opportunity to reflect on the successes, feedback and learnings that we have gleaned from the past four years and to target more effectively opportunities in the emerging ASEAN bloc. While much of focus on trade with Asia to date has been on China, most Irish exporters are SMEs. Certain markets in the ASEAN bloc are arguably more accessible to SMEs than the larger single Asian markets. I have done business in Asia for more than 20 years, in India, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand and what those experiences have highlighted to me is that English-speaking ASEAN countries, which have laws with which we would be more familiar, provide the logical starting point for many Irish SMEs venturing into Asia for the first time. The progression of the ASEAN economic community integration will now also provide a pathway for growth. In our written submission we state the Government, in difficult circumstances, is providing good leadership in assisting Ireland Inc. to increase its share of the Asian trade opportunity. The opening up of the new embassies in the ASEAN bloc, the increase in reallocation of State agency resources to the region and the increased number of high level State visits are all good for business. We also believe that the trade support being offered by our ambassadors overseas is already delivering dividends. We need to raise our ASEAN trade figures further and we are grateful for this opportunity to propose and discuss our learnings, experience, suggestions and recommendations with the committee.

With the permission of the Chair, I would like to ask my colleague Mr. John Nevin, who is the current chairman of the Asia trade forum to brief members on the proposals. We will then be pleased to take any questions.