Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are 100 additional Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland staff working in offices throughout the world. I have visited Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore and a new office has been opened in Vietnam, which is an area of opportunity. IDA Ireland is diversifying its resources in that area. It has excellent staff on the ground, who work closely with the embassies and Enterprise Ireland staff. It is a team Ireland effort in that region, where there are many opportunities. We are seeing the benefit of the increased focus on this market as the Chinese market is now opening up for Irish beef exports. That is important. Many of our pig producers export into this market as well. We are progressing the work to deepen our links in the Chinese market. While in Singapore, I met representatives of a particular company that exports 20,000 ducks per week to that market. There are many opportunities there, particularly in the food space but also in ICT. When I was in Japan I visited the fintech sector. I understand that the Japanese banking system was closed for a long time and that it had not embraced the opportunity of new technologies. During my visit, we were able to introduce them to many wonderful Irish companies that are bringing solutions in the fintech space. We have a new Ireland House in Tokyo, which will comprise staff from IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the embassies and an attaché from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. There will also be a departmental official in Beijing. There is a great deal of focus on this area, where there are many opportunities.