Mr. Kevin Sherry:

I thank the Senators for their questions. I will start with the Chairman's question about ideal target markets. Unfortunately, when we look at ideal target markets, it is somewhat complex in that we have to look at each individual sector and at individual companies to identify what might be the most appropriate growth markets. Different sectors have different dynamics so we have been working on it sector by sector. I mentioned that in 2015 exports to the UK grew by 12%. While we have not finalised our figures for 2016, growth certainly will not be at that level. The US grew in the same period by 27% and we would view the US as a very fertile and substantial opportunity for many companies in a range of areas including ICT, services, life sciences and medical devices. There is less of an opportunity for food except in terms of non-perishables like infant milk formula. It very much depends on the sector but we would certainly see the US as a substantial growth opportunity.

Irish companies have benefited from substantial and continuous growth in the Asia-Pacific market. We have seen substantial growth in China in the general area of food but particularly in the area of infant milk formula. Ireland exports a lot of formula to that market, where the demand is very high and prices are strong. We see substantial opportunities in that market for companies in the dairy area. We have also seen growth in certain parts of the Gulf region, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, in areas where Irish companies have products and services that are in demand in those regions. We are seeing growth in sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa in some sectors.

What we are doing is segmenting it, market by market, sector by sector. We must look closer to home for some of the sectors that are more vulnerable. One factor at play in that regard is the transportability of products. There are particular product areas that are very vulnerable because they are highly exposed to the UK and are not easily transportable. I am speaking here about areas like timber, construction products, pre-cast concrete and a whole range of other areas. Those companies are facing different challenges because it is not as easy to go into alternative markets. What we are doing for such companies is focusing very strongly on improving their competitiveness and also looking at investing in research and development to enable them to move up the value chain, in the sense of getting into areas of premium product where they can differentiate themselves. That is possible but it takes time and investment for companies.

There are substantial market opportunities for many companies. Some companies will be able to take their existing products and services and transport them into other markets. However, in many or even most cases companies will need to invest in modifying the product or service in order to make it suitable for the particular characteristics of the new market. In other cases, unfortunately, given the transportability of the products and their nature, opportunities in more distant markets, such as the US, the Gulf and Asia-Pacific regions, will be more limited.

Senator Craughwell asked if Enterprise Ireland has the resources it needs. Enterprise Ireland has been allocated an additional €30 million in the current year towards the activities it is undertaking, principally in the area of supporting companies in response to Brexit. We got an allocation of an additional 39 posts for which we are currently actively recruiting and we are bringing people on board specifically for that agenda. Obviously, we are in continual discussion with our parent Department about the deployment and optimisation of our resources. I will ask my colleague, Mr. Garret Murray, to elaborate on that point.