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

I apologise for being delayed at an earlier meeting, which is why my colleague, Senator Jim Walsh, led off.

I agree with the contributions made on the excellence of the presentation and its focus. I refer to the education issue. Asia Matters asks if the appointment of an Irish education attaché would be useful. It is a useful concept. During the years different embassies in different countries have had an agriculture or an industry attaché, as appropriate to the relevant country. Given the huge potential for the provision of educational services and students coming to the country, it is an area that merits detailed consideration.

Senator Jim Walsh referred to the "brand Ireland" concept. At times we can delude ourselves about the level of knowledge in some countries about our presence and particular strengths in manufacturing and exports. In that context, I said during earlier presentations that we needed to sell the entire island of Ireland as a single entity. It is farcical if there is competition between IDA Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland. People in these markets may know about Ireland, but they will certainly not know about the context of Northern Ireland and the Republic. On that subject, the work of Asia Matters seems to be based on our own state as such, but that is far from being a criticism of the organisation. I see that it has held events in Dublin, Cork and elsewhere in the South. Is there a Northern Ireland or an all-Ireland dimension to the organisation? If not, I would love to see Asia Matters push out the boundaries to change its architecture to embrace an all-Ireland context. At times, non-governmental organisations are focused and based on the configuration of statutory agencies, but sometimes we need them to push out the boundaries. They might achieve things more quickly than state-to-state or statutory agencies, which are very proprietorial. I hope Asia Matters in its work focuses on an all-Ireland context. I always tell the statutory agencies that come before the joint committee that the State will not lose if there is the utmost co-operation between Invest Northern Ireland and the Department of Investment, Trade and Enterprise in Northern Ireland, on the one hand, and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and statutory agencies here, on the other. If inward investment comes to Northern Ireland, it is beneficial to the South. Similarly, foreign direct investment in the South is beneficial to all of Ireland. If we can grow export markets that companies in Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland can access, it will be beneficial to the State. When I say I hope Asia Matters in its work focuses on an all-Ireland context, it is not a criticism but a suggestion.