Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I suppose it is to do with the cultural briefing as well as the language issue. Is anybody else taking up the slack? Are there other courses for exporters or those travelling to the region? In particular, are there cultural briefings in regard to how to meet and greet, etc? I know of other European countries that have specific hotels for Asian tourists. Are there similar hotels in Ireland where we can be assured there will be no major faux pasmade in regard to cultural issues or food?

In regard to Asian students coming to Ireland, are there any links cultivated with them when they return to the ASEAN countries? Do you see that as an important link? People have suggested they might have a grá for Ireland and might look back fondly on their time here. Along with the Irish diaspora, are these students seen as a possible link?

It has been mentioned that of the 12 million Chinese tourists that came to Europe, only a very small percentage came to Ireland. I understand there has been some movement in regard to visas and there is an agreement with the British Government, India and China. Do we need to develop this area further? In regard to clients coming to Ireland, has there been a difficulty with regard to visas for them? Is this a problem and should it be considered for recommendation by the committee?

I understand exports of goods to Asian countries are down 4% and services exports are up 22% since 2011. I presume this relates to IT and accountancy services and so on. However, do some of these services exports relate to multinationals putting services in regard to other Irish companies on the books? Can you explain why this is happening? In which services was there an increase and why has there been a reduction in goods exported? Is it due to the cost of getting to the market?

The Philippines have not been mentioned, but we did mention the earthquake in Nepal. Did the typhoon that devastated parts of the Philippines have any impact on colleagues working in the region?