Mr. Ian Talbot:

I do not want the interpretation to be taken that we were critical in any way of the effort in the BRIC countries. We were just saying we do not want to become obsessed with the BRIC countries. There are plenty of other opportunities and markets out there for us not to devote too many resources to one place. It is about bringing other people, such as the African nations, back to the table. There are great opportunities in areas such as agri-food and power. There are, for example, some Irish companies like PWC of Wicklow, doing great work in Nigeria. Guinness is also well-known there and education plays a significant role. There is a huge transfer of Nigerian people into the Irish education system. We see great opportunities in those regions. We are not critical of the work on the BRIC countries, but our comment meant we should not be obsessed by them.

With regard to China, the Dublin Chamber does great work in Beijing and Cork Chamber of Commerce, together with the two Cork councils and UCC, does great work in Shanghai and sends at least one trade mission a year there. As a network we are very focused on that. Only so many chambers in the country have the critical mass to engage in a big trade mission to China. We also try to look at SMEs.

We raised the issue of passport processing and we pushed for opportunities to look at outsourcing. If it does not work, we will accept that conclusion and move on. However, we would still like to challenge the consensus that just because it has always been done in the Passport Office and in the same way, it should continue to be done that way.