Mr. Hugh Kelly:

I will reply in no particular order. The Confucius Institute in Ireland is Chinese-funded, so its focus is exclusively China. The UCC school programme may still go ahead but funding has been pulled from the Higher Education Authority. The news is so fresh and I am not sure what the exact implications are for same. That programme is the only one which teaches Asian languages. Mr. Nevin referred to the Korean embassies which funded a lecturer to teach the Korean language. The course contains language modules and cultural training which is so important.

In terms of tourism, there is a connection between education and tourism. Last year a programme was mooted in UCC. It was not approved for various reasons but it should be explored. It was an idea to run a third level programme to train the Irish hospitality industry how to welcome Asian visitors. The Lonely Planet guides advise anybody from Asia planning to come here to bring their own noodles because the food here is unpalatable. I know from travelling overseas that there would be reluctance to visit certain markets because one has to think ahead about food, comfort and everything else. We need to make Ireland welcoming to Asian visitors.

We were asked how to divide education and how to be more effective. Uversity is a model that promotes Ireland as a place for education in the arts. All of the participating colleges have worked together and have decided among themselves which college is better at teaching certain subjects rather than using geographical location. The Royal College of Surgeons has had huge success in Malaysia and when its sends a delegation to Asia, its value proposition is very clear - it is medicine. When Trinity College, Dublin, UCD and UCC travel to the same region, their value proposition is not so clear. Prospective students have the following questions. What is the speciality of each college? What sets them apart? To start with, how does one pick between UCC and UCD to start with, let alone between Ireland and England? Making it easier for students to reach a decision is down to good business. We must convince everyone involved that dividing the sector and working together to offer a total value proposition is more powerful than competing individually.

In terms of food, we are doing an awful lot right. Bord Bia is doing an excellent job but we need to have the confidence to do more and to commit more deeply. We will succeed - the evidence is there.

In regard to the all-Ireland question and whether we promote the whole island, I see no reason for not doing so. It is worth noting that the industries in Northern Ireland are incredibly different from ones in the Republic. The North has a lot of heavy industry and mining and the offerings complement each other. I know from my experience that when one gets to Asia, and perhaps a little bit out of sight of Ireland, one can see they work closely together and it is great. Former employees of Enterprise Ireland who now work with Invest Northern Ireland are still available and willing to help Irish companies and vice versa. There is great co-operation in the markets. Based on witnessing what these organisations have been able to do, I would advocate an all-island context as it has more positives than negatives.

The UK has put in place a chamber of commerce model in order to stretch its resources and that is why we think it is clever. With a bit of funding, the chambers of commerce here could look after certain markets which would allow Enterprise Ireland to concentrate its resources on other markets. The problem is Enterprise Ireland is spread too thinly. When we say to the Asian nations that we want to increase trade with them, they ask about our commitment. They ask how many people we have concentrating on this market to try to improve trade but the numbers are not credible and there is a mismatch. We need to give them evidence that we are serious. I suggest we organise public private partnerships or semi-public private partnerships by bolstering the local chambers of commerce, which are largely funded by subscriptions paid by local businesses. If we just top that up, then we will stretch our resources further. We cannot print money and we appreciate resources are limited. That is why we are pushing so hard for a more co-operative approach. That goes to the heart of the query about recommendation No. 9. We want more public private partnership, consultation and working together. There are a lot of private companies willing to contribute their time and resources to the cause but they need to be let in and trusted. The Asia trade forum has led to an increase in trust over the past number of years and we have what we consider to be a good relationship with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. The relationship is far better now than when we started so the forum has been a success.