Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the contributions by Mr. Kelly and Mr. Nevin. Mention is made in the briefing provided that product exports to the ASEAN countries has decreased by 4% since 2011 while service exports have risen by 22%. Perhaps we could get a breakdown in regard to the product and service exports, including financial, ICT and insurance services. It was also stated that there is an opportunity to follow the British example and bolster the Irish chambers abroad. In this regard, are the witnesses speaking of direct financial assistance from Government to enable Chambers Ireland to have more personnel working directly at the coal-face? Also, has consideration been given to the promotion of Ireland on an all-island basis, rather than Ireland seeking extra market opportunities for this State while the Northern Ireland agencies do likewise? Surely, we are so distant from those countries there is merit in an all-Ireland promotion from the point of view of specific target areas. Has that been considered?

Recommendation No. 9 is that there be better top level cross-agency interaction to leverage off our collective strengths. That could be said by anybody about anything. If the delegates were in a position to lay out what promotional and State agencies we should have supporting our businesses in Asia and elsewhere, what proposals, in terms of structure and architecture, would they put in this regard to Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? We could all call, and have done so, for better leverage, co-operation and collaboration between all the different agencies. The word "silo" was mentioned. We are very conscious of that. Every Department and statutory agency wants to work in a silo. They are all empire builders in their own way. They are very protective about their own boundaries. That has been the way since long before the foundation of the State and it will be the way in generations to come as well. If the delegates were to get what they believe would be the preferred structure of our existing State agencies, what would it look like?

From my limited experience of trade missions and so on, companies and industries do a huge amount of work themselves. Governments and embassies can only open doors, which is also the message from the delegates today. During some of the trade missions I was on I met individuals of small, medium and large companies who to their credit had been doing huge work in uncharted fields long before the State. Is there merit in the provision of direct subvention to companies to support their own marketing efforts while trying to source new markets in the emerging markets from our point of view? In regard to the ASEAN countries, I note the current population is 609 million and is projected to reach 680 million within the next five years. As such, it is an area of huge economic growth in most of the countries and an area of huge population growth as well.

An issue of concern to many of the civil society organisations is the need to be conscious at all times of human rights and industrial relations.

Taking the ASEAN countries, including Myanmar-Burma, there are major concerns about human rights and industrial relations. In the development of trade, we must be conscious that we are not dumbing down workers' rights and human rights.