Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

Enterprise Ireland has a dedicated high growth markets unit in Dublin to provide further assistance to client companies doing business in a range of countries including Brazil, Russia, India and China. Trade missions support this work. Under the programme for Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has taken particular responsibility for trade promotion. This means the diplomatic service is fully engaged in promoting trade and plans have been developed for each of Ireland's target markets. The Tánaiste chairs the new export council which brings together the focus of this work.

The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is engaged in developing trading opportunities in emerging economies through the negotiation of free-trade agreements between the EU and third countries and improved opportunities for exporters can also emerge from reductions in tariff and non-tariff barriers through trade and regulatory discussions between the EU and China, Russia and Brazil.

To answer the question, it is an ongoing process and one must speak to the figures. Between 2004 and 2010, merchandise exports from Ireland to Brazil, Russia, India and China rose by approximately 122% and in the same period services exports to those countries rose by 688%. Another key example of this success is the fact that Ireland now has a significant trade surplus with China, which is a dramatic turnaround from the position only four years previously when we had a deficit of approximately €2.9 billion.

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