Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 172: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has satisfied himself with the level of co-operation between the enterprise development agencies North and South. [25512/05]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge the very important role that all the enterprise development agencies, North and South, play in developing a strong all-island economy. In relation to the work of InterTradeIreland, the all-island trade and business development body, it should be noted that all of the body's programmes are all-island in nature and are open equally to business from across the island. Under its corporate plan 2005-2007, InterTradeIreland recognises the need for and the value of collaboration with other enterprise agencies. Such collaboration includes consultation in the definition of all the enterprise development agencies' respective strategic and business plans. In addition, there are meetings between the planning managers of all the economic development agencies on the island of Ireland to discuss areas of common interest.

InterTradeIreland's commitment to working with its sister agencies at an operational level can be seen in initiatives such as: GO-SOURCE.COM, the all-island public procurement portal, which is a collaborative effort between InterTradeIreland, Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland; the Irish Benchmarking Forum which is chaired by InterTradeIreland and has representatives from Invest Northern Ireland, Forfás, IDA, Shannon Development, FÁS and Údarás na Gaeltachta; the governance and management structures of major InterTradeIreland projects, such as FUSION technology transfer project and the ACUMEN sales and marketing project, which include steering committees whose membership comprise representatives from other economic development agencies.

In relation to the work of IDA Ireland, the board of IDA and the board of Invest Northern Ireland hold an annual joint board meeting to update each other on issues such as strategy, opportunities for collaboration, EU affairs and other topics of mutual interest. These high level board meetings have resulted in a commitment to establish a cross-Border Virtual Technology Park initiative centred on Derry and Letterkenny. This is being progressed by executives from both agencies and is the most current and practical example of joint efforts to create a platform for the development of new economy enterprises in the north west.

In addition to its day to day activities, Enterprise Ireland liaises frequently at senior level with InterTradeIreland. Enterprise Ireland met the board of InterTradeIreland recently to brief it on its new strategy as part of the ongoing relationship between the two agencies. Enterprise Ireland also works with its counterpart Invest Northern Ireland across a range of activities. The Enterprise Ireland student enterprise awards are sponsored by the two bodies and Ulster Bank. Other areas of co-operation include sectoral studies, such as furniture, fashion and textiles, and exchanges of experience at a senior level on the development of innovation. In addition to a meeting between the chief executives of Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland, together with their senior management teams, a meeting of the boards of Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland was held in November 2004 in Dundalk to discuss their respective strategies. A further meeting between the board of Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland is planned for November 2005.

On an ongoing basis the county enterprise boards, CEBs, engage with their Northern counterparts, Enterprise Northern Ireland, ENI, the umbrella organisation for the North's local enterprise agencies, LEAs. Together these agencies identify and implement various initiatives to encourage and bring about increasing levels of cross-Border trade, joint ventures, joint marketing strategies and business linkages between companies which operate in the micro-sectors of the economies North and South. Many such initiatives are under way at the present time, the two most important of which are: Tradelinks, a partnership between the six Border county CEBs and ENI, whose aim is to assist 600 micro-businesses North and South to identify and address obstacles which hinder their engagement in cross-Border trade and economic co-operation, and the micro-trade programme, a partnership between the CEBs and the LEAs, which is a wider North-South programme of co-operation aimed at enhancing cross-Border trade within the micro-sector generally across the island.

In the context of globalisation and ever increasing competition, the enterprise development agencies, North and South, must continue to liaise frequently on matters of mutual concern and continue to explore areas of fruitful co-operation.