Ms Nicola Byrne:

I am not going to talk about InterTradeIreland for the same reason as we do not talk about trade within Ireland because we are exporters. It is a different brief and we are not qualified to talk about it. We can give the committee a personal view later. I love it. It is an excellent organisation and I spent a great deal of time with it and it is an incredibly useful resource.

In respect of industry I wrote down the words Aberdeen and oil. One of the problems raised by Brexit is that many people from Saudi Arabia and Qatar have studied in the UK, many in Aberdeen, which gives them a natural affinity and relationship with the UK. As the UK will no longer be the centre of the universe there is an opportunity to bring those people to Ireland to educate them here. There is an opportunity to consider education as trade because as far as we are concerned, tourism is trade and so is education, which is also a service. Services will account for between 30% and 40% of trade in tourism and other industries in Ireland. Ignoring the food and the pharmaceutical sectors, we are left with services and that is our strength, so we should aim to build relationships through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to attract people into the country who develop an affinity with the country and promote trade.