Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

In establishing the itinerary for any official visits abroad, the three State enterprise agencies, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, work very closely together, with my own Department and with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The objective is clear: we want to achieve increased sales and exports and to headline our attractiveness as a locale for FDI. This entails setting out our stall not only on the 12.5% corporation tax rate and the research and development tax credit but also on our intellectual capital and other attractions and in restoring reputational damage in that regard also.

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Ireland's ongoing development as a centre for research excellence continues to be a crucial factor in the attraction of foreign direct investment and SFI serves as a magnet of attraction for FDI through its support of research expertise in ICT, biotechnology and energy, its 341 principal investigator teams, its partnership with FDI and Irish companies in the nine centres for science, engineering and technology, CSETs, and the 19 strategic research centres, SRCs.

As the agency tasked with attracting industrial FDI to Ireland, IDA Ireland approved 126 investment projects for support in 2010, including 37 research, development and innovation projects, where IDA support underpinned total RDI investment of approximately €465 million.

Given the small size of the Irish economy, increased sales will be largely achieved overseas through exporting. Enterprise Ireland is therefore focused on every aspect of the exporting and trade development process and the promotion of Irish companies on overseas trade visits is a key part of this process. Overseas visits present an opportunity to build awareness among the international community of the availability of sophisticated products and services emerging from innovation and research and development within indigenous industry.

We have other strengths, complementary to our fiscal regime and intellectual capital. The availability of qualified labour, a workforce noted among peers internationally for its flexibility and adaptability and falling costs in terms of property, workforce and energy. Our task, working together with the relevant Departments and agencies, is to marshal all of these strengths to deliver a positive outcome.

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