Jimmy Harte (Labour)

All of us are aware of the difficulties that the country faces. One route to recovery is through exports, the smart economy and tourism. Export led growth offers a way forward if we can resolve our domestic problems and put the public finances in order. Even in these recessionary times, our export trade has grown significantly. However, we cannot be complacent and in this context I am delighted that the trade council has been established. Our performance in agri-food and tourism is encouraging. We have a strong background in education and English is the main trading language used in many of our major trading partners, including India, the UK and various parts of Europe.

There is probably an Irish bar in every city in the world but I have yet to go into one in which tourism to Ireland was promoted. There are pictures of the countryside and representations of our culture but I have yet to see a brochure advertising holidays in Ireland. Irish bars offer a potential network of tourism offices and I am sure they would be happy to distribute marketing material. No other country in the world has a similar network. People go into Irish bars because our culture means something to them. It is a brand that can be more aggressively sold.

Euro 2012 offers further marketing opportunities in Ukraine and Poland, which have a combined population of more than 80 million. As one of the smallest countries in the tournament, we will receive considerable attention. After the 1990 World Cup, Italian tourists came in their droves to Ireland because of the positive messages left by Irish fans. I have never heard of an Irish fan being arrested or found drunk, although I stand to be corrected. Perhaps there might be a focus on UEFA Euro 2012 to be held in Ukraine and Poland, two big economies. Obviously, people in Poland are familiar with Ireland because the two countries are in the European Union but Ukraine has a massive population of 46 million. As it is almost the size of France, there is potential for us to find a market there. I hope Tourism Ireland will in marketing this country avail of that opportunity next summer.

I welcome the introduction of the visa waiver scheme. A huge number of Indian people come to the United Kingdom and Ireland. English is their first language and India is a good trading nation which has a strong software industry. Many Indians live in Letterkenny and work in the Pramerica factory. They are keen to come to Ireland and develop a business here. My experience with the health care industry in Letterkenny started about 30 years ago. There are many Irish-born experts in health care who have the expertise and knowledge to develop the health care business in Ireland. The health care market worldwide is massive and growing all the time. As people are healthier and living longer, the more health care interventions and components manufactured in Ireland, the more it will help the economy.

I look forward to us developing the market in the Far East. Indonesia, for example, has a population of 400 million. There are markets in the Far East that we have not yet touched and I am delighted that there are trade missions to these countries. It is money well spent. The IDA did this to develop the export market and brought people to Ireland when it was, perhaps, not the thing to do. I am glad trade, therefore, that missions led by the Minister will be sent to these countries. Senator Quinn referred to the various "Stan" countries which, again, have a massive population base. We might think everybody knows about Ireland, but they do not. However, when they get to know it, we can trade well with them. This brings me back to the point about Irish bars. I am sure there is an Irish bar in Kazakhstan. It is probably called "Stan's Bar".

We have the potential to develop our export markets. This will get us out of our current economic straits, but it will require a great deal of hard work and, perhaps, a lot of luck. The domestic economy is flat and the European economy is not growing, but we have markets in the BRIC countries and the Far East to develop. I wish the Minister luck.