Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 26 and 28 together.

Since coming to office in March 2011 I have repeatedly stated my belief that the Diaspora can make a meaningful contribution to Ireland’s economic recovery. The Global Irish Network is a central element of the Government’s engagement with the Diaspora in support of our economic goals. On 26 October 2012 last I published the 12 month progress report on the forum which can be viewed on . The Deputies will wish to note that the Comptroller and Auditor General reviewed the forum in his report of September 2011. The close alignment of the forum’s outcomes with key Government objectives, including the Action Plan for Jobs, has ensured that significant progress has been made in respect of all the key outcomes. The report clearly demonstrates the ability of the network to deliver real, tangible economic benefits for the Irish at home and abroad in priority areas such as job creation, inward investment, support for the SME and export sectors and enhancing our international reputation. In addition, we have been able to leverage the expertise and experience of the network in the agrifood and education sectors, all of which can benefit from enhanced partnership between the State’s agencies and the Diaspora.

Progress is reported in the report in respect of a number of areas, including the establishment of the global Irish contacts programme, which directly links the Diaspora with Irish companies seeking to achieve international growth and to which 100 participants have signed up; Global Irish Network members across the globe are working with the tourism promotion agencies to promote The Gathering Ireland 2013 overseas and organising diaspora-related events in Ireland such the Spar international annual conference in Killarney and the "Silicon Valley Comes to Ireland" event in Cork in January 2013; the launch of ConnectIreland, which aims to create 5,000 jobs in the next five years - approximately 300 companies have been suggested to ConnectIreland from people all over the world since the initiative was launched in March 2012; directly facilitating job creation through the hosting of an "Invest in Ireland" round-table event with former President Clinton in New York and Dublin to coincide with the Navy versus Notre Dame American football game; 130 forum participants registered to become advocates for Ireland in sectors such as foreign direct investment, FDI, support for exporters, tourism, and culture; greater involvement of local network members in the planning and organising of trade missions in their respective regions - these members were involved in the "Invest in Ireland" round-table event in New York in February, the Taoiseach’s visit to China and all other Enterprise Ireland organised trade missions in 2012; and the expansion of the Farmleigh fellowship programme in Asia. Some 45 fellows will have completed the latter by the end of 2012.

The establishment of the Global Irish Network was an innovative and ambitious undertaking by my Department that has given far greater strategic direction and coherence to the manner in which the Government engages with our most senior Irish contacts across the globe. In addition to contributing to initiatives such as the global Irish contacts programme, The Gathering and ConnectIreland, the network has proved to be particularly effective as a source of structured advice from key players in priority markets and sectors and within multinational companies. The programme has also facilitated high level access for the Government and Irish companies to decision-makers in major corporations.

In response to the strong wish among participants to be kept fully informed of developments, the Taoiseach and I now issue regular e-newsletters to them. These short e-mails update network members on economic developments in Ireland and the progress being made in respect of the forum's outcomes. I also established the advisory group of the Global Irish Network, which includes 19 members of the network from each of the main geographic areas represented at the 2011 forum. This group is charged with reviewing progress on the forum outcomes, co-ordinating the overall work programme for the Global Irish Network and working with our ambassadors in keeping the wider network informed of developments. Its first meeting took place in Dublin on 11 July.

I hosted a meeting of European network members at the Embassy of Ireland in Berlin on 26 October. This meeting brought together participants based in continental Europe, Russia and Turkey and provided an opportunity to examine the specific economic challenges and opportunities that exist for Ireland in the region and obtain their views on how the network can contribute to our goals.

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