Mr. Thomas Hunter McGowan:

As our submission was circulated in advance of today's meeting of the joint committee, I will not go through all of it in detail. I will pick out a few important highlights. InterTradeIreland has been tasked by both Governments with boosting North-South economic co-operation for the mutual benefit of Northern Ireland and Ireland. In the last 14 years, some 25,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have benefited from our cross-Border information and advice service. Almost 5,000 companies have taken part in our all-island programmes. These companies have generated €725 million worth of trade and business development value. More than 3,000 jobs have been created in these small and medium-sized enterprises. The value of cross-Border trade is estimated to be approximately €2.5 billion.

Our visionis to create an environment in which Ireland and Northern Ireland co-operate to ensure businesses are making full use of cross-Border opportunities to drive competitiveness, jobs and growth. Our research has shown that 70% of all exporters took their first steps in exporting by trading with the other jurisdiction on the island, which indicates that there is a pathway to exporting. Our supports focus on two key pillars, which are trade and innovation. The demand for our programmes is very high. We recently received 920 inquiries for the 60 places on our Fusion programme and 770 inquiries for the 60 places on our Acumen programme. The 50 places on our pilot Elevate programme were easily filled. It is clear that there is a demand for an Elevate programme that serves between 75 and 100 companies per annum. It is clear that there is a substantial supply-side deficit for the programmes we deliver.

Our performance is measured by reference to very stringent key performance indicators that are subject to tough assessment. So far, we have exceeded the performance target that has been set for us in every corporate plan. Between 2008 and 2010, the return on our expenditure was 10.6:1, which means that for every €1 we spent, there was a return of €10.60 in business value. Our projected out-turn at the end of this year for the 2011-13 period is 15:1. We had 200 first-time exporters and 92 first-time innovators in the first period. We have had 195 such exporters and 235 such innovators in the second period. Clearly, there has been a focus on innovation. The jobs impact in the 2008-10 period was just over 500 jobs. We estimate that the equivalent figure for the current period will be between 1,300 and 1,400. In the 2011-13 corporate plan, we had to make cumulative efficiency savings of 3% per annum. The number of companies we engage with has increased from approximately 8,800 in the first period to over 9,000 in the current period. The business value generated - the extra sales and efficiencies achieved, or the extra investment made in the companies we are involved with - has increased from €232 million to €321 million. At the same time, our budget has decreased from €23.3 million to €21.8 million. It is clear that we are doing much more with much less.

One of the reasons for our success has been the companies we seek to work with. Our programmes focus on small firms that aspire to grow but have suffered from the decline in the domestic market. As such companies are small, they have often gone off the radar of the larger development agencies. We also focus on building companies that are sustainable by providing them with the capabilities and opportunities for sustained growth. Companies that export or innovate are three times more likely to have grown over the past three years. This fact, coupled with the convergence of business activity across the island at a level where only one in five businesses across the island are reporting increasing sales, points to an economic imperative to increase the number of businesses exporting and innovating.

InterTradeIreland has shown that cross-Border co-operation has a clear and positive role to play in this sector. In the last three years, we have assisted 235 companies to become first-time innovators and 195 more businesses to become first-time exporters. As I have said, some 70% of off-island exporters took their first steps into the export market by starting with cross-Border sales on the island. The benefits of close co-operation for mutual economic benefit have been shown in the research and development partnership between the United States and Ireland and the strength of North-South partnerships participating in the seventh EU framework programme. There is a strong foundation in place for participants in the upcoming Horizon 2020 programme. Our strategic priorities are to stimulate more job creation and job retention by increasing the numbers of businesses that benefit from our programmes, and to do this in the most efficient manner by ensuring the non-programme costs of the organisation are kept constant or reduced where possible. I will welcome anything that the members of the committee might want to say.