Written answers

Tuesday, 31 May 2005

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Trade Mission

9:00 pm

Photo of Jack WallJack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 75: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the results of his recent trade mission to the United States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18033/05]

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 94: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the results of his four day visit to the United States in April 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18083/05]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 and 94 together.

The United States is a key export market for Irish owned companies, which exported over €1 billion to the market in 2004. It is a powerful global economy and leading in many industries and remains an essential market for Irish companies seeking to grow an international presence.

I led a trade mission organised by Enterprise Ireland to New York, New Jersey, Washington DC and Boston from 25 to 28 April 2005. The visit helped to raise the profile of Irish companies by assisting them to enhance their relationships with US customers and partners. During my visit I met over 50 Enterprise Ireland client companies and participated in one to one meetings or announcements with 19 of them. I also met senior executives from US companies, including HSBC, World Bank, EMC, IBM and Pfizer.

The key objectives of the visit were to support and highlight the successes of Irish companies and announce specific sales-partner deals; confirm to US buyers Enterprise Ireland's role as a gateway to Irish industry and to build on relationships Enterprise Ireland has developed with both the National Institutes of Health, NIH, and Department of Health and Human Services.

During the visit I witnessed Irish companies announce deals and partnerships worth €15 million with the potential to rise to €90 million, with major American companies in the pharmaceutical, health care and financial services markets. Examples of this are Qumas which signed a $1 million deal with Janssen Pharmaceutica; Data Display which signed a $5 million deal with Siemens to supply its technology to the New York city subway system; Rockall Technologies which signed a $1 million dollar deal with Wachovia Bank; and Cylon Controls which announced a flagship deal in Washington to equip a 400,000 sq. ft. building with its energy and equipment control technology. There were several other deals discussed during the visit with clients such as Alimentary Health, Intuition, Anam and a number of others that cannot be made public due to commercial sensitivities.

In addition to helping client companies secure sales and key reference sites for Irish companies in the USA, Enterprise Ireland is involved in several strategic initiatives including projects focused on building research partnerships with key institutes, networking activities, improving competitiveness through specialist consultants, expanding market reach through indirect channels and targeted campaigns with key global companies.

During the visit I had the opportunity of meeting the US Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt; Elias Zerhouni, Director of the National Institutes of Health; Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez; Thomas J. Donohue, President of the US Chamber of Commerce; and Thomas Finneran of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

I also attended a number of networking functions hosted by Enterprise Ireland and Irish diplomatic missions in the US with key people from both industry and academia in New York, Washington DC and Boston. In Washington DC I met the National Institutes of Health, NIH. The National Institutes of Health constitute the world's largest research facility with an annual budget of over $28 billion. Enterprise Ireland has in recent years developed a strong and very valued relationship with the NIH and has secured the assignment of an Enterprise Ireland representative at its office of technology transfer. The meeting allowed me to build on this key relationship with the NIH. I thanked Dr. Zerhouni, director of the NIH and the NIH for their efforts over the past three years in facilitating introductions between NIH institutes and Enterprise Ireland's client base and I also thanked him for the launch of the NIH-Enterprise Ireland assignment, highlighting how valuable it will be and already is to the Irish life sciences industry. The meeting with Dr. Zerhouni of the NIH has led the way for discussions on extending the initial term of the NIH-EI assignment to the office of technology transfer there.

Enterprise Ireland is actively following up on action plans to build on the opportunities for Irish companies and the excellent contacts established during this trip.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.