Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The drop in value is largely due to a certain number of patented products coming off protection, which has led to a significant reduction in the value of certain pharmaceutical products. Having said that, we have sustained employment in the pharmaceutical sector, so IDA Ireland has been successful in repositioning our overall portfolio within the pharmaceutical sector to maintain and increase overall employment, despite certain products coming off patent.

The Enterprise Ireland figures are very positive. There was an additional €300 million of exports from Enterprise Ireland companies, which represented a 30% growth for Enterprise Ireland - Irish-owned - company sales. I have led seven Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland missions to the US. It is a fruitful market for us in foreign direct investment, most of which still comes from the USA, and increasingly Irish companies have the quality products and services to penetrate that market and are doing so successfully. The prospective EU-US free-trade agreement is a priority for us during the Presidency. That could also open additional opportunities by bringing down barriers in the market.

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