Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join in the welcome extended to our visitors. I compliment them on the work Enterprise Ireland is doing and on its level of job creation. We are all anxious that job creation would be spread throughout the regions and I say that as someone who comes from a town in the west that has suffered greatly from unemployment during the past decade. We wish the agency success and we would be anxious to see it expand, grow jobs throughout the regions and continue the good work it is doing with companies in finding new markets.

I have a few brief questions. Mr. Sherry indicated that in 2014, 1,000 companies partook in 18 ministerial led missions. What are the agency's plans for 2015 in terms of the level of ministerial missions and the number of companies that will be involved?

What are the greatest challenges companies face in doing business in the ASEAN region? Previous speakers referred to human rights and workers' rights. Given that in many instances the agency is colocated with the embassies and consulates, what is the level of engagement on and how high on its agenda is the area of human rights in terms of doing business with companies and encouraging business with organisations that might not have a good human rights track record?