Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Apologies for missing the earlier part of the meeting. I was in the Chamber for parliamentary questions. I am due back there to ask another question.

With regard to the promotion of Ireland from an industry point of view, it is great to hear the very positive message that the witnesses have. I represent Cavan-Monaghan, and there is huge interdependence between the counties. I have met Mr. Kelly in Derrylin and Tirmonen on a number of occasions. Does the witnesses see merit in a closer divergence between the Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Invest NI? I know, from partaking in trade missions in the past, that Northern Irish companies and businesses were always represented on the trade missions led by Government Ministers over the years. That was always positive. Do the bodies represented here today have adequate links with our research institutes and our colleges of further and higher education in terms of preparing people with the skills and the knowledge for the jobs that the sector envisages will be available in the future?