Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With regard to many of our agencies we do have to look at where we have come from economically. Of course it is very regrettable that there was downsizing due to the economic crisis we faced, but once we had the ability to invest we have been building up again. It is a priority, as the Senator saw in the budget last year, and it will be a priority again, to continue to build the staff of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland.

The Senator is aware that the Taoiseach recently announced an exercise that is now under way that will be helpful in examining the global footprint of all our agencies in particular. There has recently been more investment in Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the roles of Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and our embassies are being examined in the context of the substantial increase the Taoiseach wants to see in the coming years. The Senator is correct that now that the economy is recovering we need to invest in those agencies and particularly so in view of the challenges posed by Brexit. We will not be found wanting in terms of supporting the agencies to have appropriate staff in place.