Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I know he has and is familiar with it from the content of his contribution. He will note that a key component of it is the sectoral area involvement, market analysis and identifying what sectors of our economy would be appropriate in the context of exporting to those markets.

With regard to emerging markets, some economies have emerged as forceful markets in recent times, which had not been anticipated up to a number of years ago. For example, Brazil had political instability and massive inflationary problems up to the time of the recent President Lula da Silva, who has now retired. There was great potential for that economy to develop but that potential was untapped in its domestic market and, more importantly, it was not perceived by the world to be a growing and emerging market until recently. That example highlights that we have to analyse at an early stage areas of potential growth and opportunity for our economy and to intervene at an early stage. As sure as night follows day, as soon as I leave a country having promoted Ireland, a minister and trade delegation from another country will arrive to put forward a similar case for their country's goods, services and companies. The international market is very competitive. We must establish credibility and presence and encourage and assist companies to examine those markets. Equally, the reverse is the case. If an economy is growing rapidly, there is a tendency for its indigenous companies to internationalise. Therefore, there is a two-way flow. It is necessary to focus on exports to markets and examine the potential for the internationalisation of some of the companies in those markets to invest in Ireland.

We have some critically important clusters in this country. Senator Healy Eames referred to the medical devices industry in Galway and there is the pharmaceutical industry in Cork. There is a spin-off from the clustering of companies in an industry. Those in the industry work in association with academia in the area, with researchers, and develop a cluster of research, development, innovation and then there is the commercialisation process. That link is working very successfully in the context of the medical devices industry in Galway and equally in Cork with the institute of technology, UCC, pharmaceutical sector and life sciences. We are trying to ensure the clustering of companies in an industry creates a critical mass, sustainability and drives the industry. The medical devices industry in Galway is one of the biggest medical device clusters in the world, although that is not probably well recognised, and it has international recognition at this stage.

The other cluster that is often taken for granted is found as one walks over O'Connell Bridge and turns right, namely, financial services. It is another important sector internationally where there is major potential for growth with the redistribution of wealth around the world from the west and what was termed the first world countries to the emerging and growth markets. Those working in the financial services sector are examining areas to which to move capital and in which to invest. We have a golden opportunity at this stage to point out that the Irish Financial Services Centre is well recognised internationally but we must promote it in a very positive way.

With regard to the perception of this economy, most of the Senators who contributed raised this point and I referred to it in my opening comments. By and large most people when they speak about our economy are doing so with the best of intentions and the right intentions. It is often the language that is used or the sentiment that is expressed that contributes to how we are perceived. We have to change and to be conscious of this at parliamentary and Government level and such change will filter into the broader community. There are many positive developments. Admittedly, we have rising unemployment, now at the rate of 13.6%. Addressing it is a major challenge. Such high unemployment is a drain on the economy because the resources of our people are not being fully harnessed and utilised.

Senator Dearey referred to moving from growth-led economies and not using the resources we have. He is right about that. We have to wean ourselves off fossil fuels etc. However, the one key ingredient we have, essentially it is the only one, is our people. They are our greatest resource. We do not have any natural raw materials other than perhaps some agricultural food products. Everything else has to be created and manufactured and most of it has to be exported. The creativity and investment highlighted by some Senators is hugely significant.

I recently visited a school with Enterprise Ireland where an enterprise competition was being run to foster and inculcate in people the idea that one does not have to go to school, college and then find a job. The point was made that as college graduate one can immediately start up a business. That was successfully shown for example in the Rubicon Centre in Cork Institute of Technology. They have a cluster of expertise and people who have a business idea on leaving college and can see it go.

Another important issue is that we must dispel the myth that a failure is failure. The fear of failure holds back a large cohort of people from pursing projects - failure of being an embarrassment to oneself, one's family, one's neighbours, one's friends in the parish and everybody else belonging to one. However, if one goes to the United States, one finds that wherever there is a creative, innovative entrepreneurial instinct, the fear of failure does not even come into reckoning when people are making decisions. They have a vision, a belief, a dream and they follow it through. If it does not work and is not successful, they see that as a learning curve, as a badge of honour that they tried hard and it did not work. They pick themselves up by the boot straps and they try again. Unfortunately, there is still a latency in our psyche that failure must be avoided at all costs. Even in the context of our legislation with regard to the bankruptcy laws, which Senator Quinn raised, that is an issue that will have to be addressed. The minute one mentions revisiting our bankruptcy laws, one has to make sure the system places a burden on the person and does not remove his or her obligation to try to repay, but equally one is not punitive to the point where it damages risk taking and wealth creation or discourages individuals from establishing companies and businesses with the right intentions. We have to introduce some ideas and legislation to amend our punitive bankruptcy legislation.

We need to acknowledge that creativity, risk and innovation are accompanied by the potential for failure. I do not suggest a person whose business is unsuccessful has failed in every way; we should see it as a positive learning experience and encourage those involved to try again. Most of the hugely successful entrepreneurs throughout the world have tried on several occasions to establish companies, promote ideas and develop visions. In many cases, their first effort or two ended without success, or "failed" as we like to say in Ireland. We must change that mindset. I have spoken at conferences of small and medium-sized enterprises. Such events may have been organised to encourage high potential start-up companies, for example. When one scratches the surface on such occasions, one gets a sense that the reluctance to start new companies is associated with the use of the word "failure".

The document we have been discussing is ambitious in its approach and well thought out. The relevant State agencies have bought into it, rightly so, because they are obliged to serve the public in line with their mandate, to help Irish companies to increase their market share abroad and encourage foreign companies to invest in Ireland.

I spoke about the St. Patrick's Day celebrations which are hugely significant. One might have thought I was touting for another trip abroad. Regardless of the composition of future Governments, it is critically important that delegations continue to travel abroad. In my short time as a Minister of State I have found that overseas trips to promote Ireland Inc, Irish brands and Irish teams, particularly those that coincide with St. Patrick's Day celebrations, are viewed in a positive light. No other country enjoys the same level of exposure, as a brand, as Ireland does for a full week in the middle of March. We sometimes hear criticism of the presentation of a bowl of shamrock to the President of the United States, but I suggest it is a hugely significant event each year. How much would the CEO of a large company, or the marketing team of Coca-Cola, pay to have such guaranteed exposure once a year? We should also bear in mind the publicity received by Ireland, as a brand, when Fifth Avenue and streets in cities such as Moscow and Tokyo are closed each year for St. Patrick's Day parades. One simply could not buy such exposure. It must be used and seen in a positive light. I have found that if such events are portrayed negatively by commentators at home, their credibility is undermined abroad. It is seen as an insult to the country being visited. It is important to consider this. If one does not enjoy support and confidence at home when one goes on these trips, one's hosts will read in the press what is being said about the various trips and one's credibility will be undermined. It is a small but an important point. We should not kill the positive international sentiment and hope, not only among the Irish Diaspora but also among those who like, respect, admire and support the Irish people. When we travel abroad on these trips, we are attracting tourists to Ireland also. I could speak at greater length on this issue which was mentioned by Senators Quinn and Carty.

Ireland is a food island. If the world's population increase is to be sustained, global food production output will have to increase by approximately 50% by 2030. That presents a huge challenge for the world because of the diminishing amount of land available for agriculture. As a First World country, Ireland has an obligation to promote a system of food production that sustains the existing population of the world, meets the dietary requirements of the international community, addresses imbalances within the food production sector and alleviates hunger in certain parts of the world. We also have an opportunity to capitalise on what will be required in years to come. As markets grow and become more affluent and dietary demands become more sophisticated, people will demand higher quality dairy products and increased amounts of beef, for example. Irish beef is probably the most marketable product we have. In fact, it is Ireland's most widely presented product in the world. It is on more supermarket shelves than beef from any other country. We must build on the existing recognition of the product.

The difficulty we have is that further efficiencies need to be achieved in the dairy processing industry. This is critically important. We need to continue to aim for higher added value. We should never be ashamed of the fact that Irish food is well recognised internationally. There is huge potential in this regard. When we look down the road with regard to the views of the European Union on the development of agriculture - I refer to the lifting of quotas, for example - there will be further potential to achieve an increase in capacity in the beef and dairy sectors. While we face huge challenges in agriculture as a result of the difficult market conditions, when the peaks and troughs of the cycle iron themselves out in the longer term, there will be huge potential for growth. The agriculture industry needs to import very little. In other words, it is a big net exporter. We were given a tour of County Mayo by Senator Carty. I would like to visit that part of the country at some time.