Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The access we received was superb. The views expressed by those who are in Ireland at present is that this is a good place in which to do business. Ireland is perceived to be pro-enterprise and has a flexible and talented workforce and this is the basis on which many people make decisions to come here. Ireland's investment in research and development is of great importance to them. Moreover, its centres for science, engineering and technology, interaction between industry and the commercialisation of intellectual property are highly important. Ireland needs to be at the high-value end, which is the type of product in which I was trying to invest and encourage into Ireland. We met a number of new, emerging types of businesses. As the Deputy noted, that will take some time in gestation. That said, our message is clear that Ireland still is a good place in which to do business.

On the issue of costs, some naturally have reflected on that issue, most particularly in the context of energy and, in some cases, labour costs. However, much of this was offset by our talent pool. In addition, the Government is cognisant of the input costs that cause difficulties to a number of companies and has new initiatives to consider and support this issue. Moreover, the reiteration in his Budget Statement by the Minister for Finance of Ireland's 12.5% corporation tax rate was greatly welcomed.

In the context of the changing political dynamic in the United States, much of which concerns fears that are not necessarily well-founded, the view that Ireland is in any way perceived as a tax haven was not present. Ireland's absence from the OECD's Richter scale in this regard is of great importance to us. Therefore, I continue to be of the view that Ireland will see further investment from our foreign direct investment community. This is not to suggest it will not be without its challenges, as I would be naive to say that.

As for travelling abroad, I visited Zurich last week, where I engaged in much networking with ICT businesses. Next week, I intend to travel with 60 companies to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to examine new opportunities for them. Members are aware the Taoiseach has travelled to China and I intend to go to Japan. Moreover, there will be further works carried out by my Ministers of State, including the Minister of State with responsibility for trade, who is on such a mission at present to attract and provide opportunities for foreign direct investment and to afford indigenous companies opportunities abroad.

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