Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In all of our visits abroad, we meet people from both sides of the equation and it works both ways. Even though we schedule meetings with diaspora groups, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland regularly ask us in the Department to meet Irish businesses that want to do business in the countries we are visiting. IDA Ireland also asks us to meet its clients that are interested in investing back in Ireland. There is a home connection with Ireland, as the Deputy will be aware. Some of the big companies that have invested in Ireland over the years have done so because somebody senior in that company has an Irish connection. We do that and IDA Ireland has identified most of those people. This is not the ordinary Irish diaspora but people who are in a position to influence investment policies in their companies and they are well known to IDA Ireland, and to encourage them back here. Any time our officials or Ministers are abroad, they are asked to meet those people to encourage them.