Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 40: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps she has taken to implement the recommendations of the services strategy group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40905/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The report of the Services Strategy Group, "Catching the Wave: A Services Strategy for Ireland", sets out new policy proposals on how we can ensure the continued development and growth of Ireland's services sector and outlines how to maximise the future returns to the country from services activities in all enterprises, both current and potential. Three strategic aims for future services policy in Ireland are identified in the report:

Realising the opportunities to further grow and diversify Irish services exports;

Encouraging internationalisation, where Irish service enterprises establish operations in overseas markets;

Recognising the important role of Irish service enterprises that trade locally on the domestic market, and ensuring that these are efficient and productive

Since the launch of the Services Strategy in 2008, considerable progress has been made in respect of many of the recommendations.

Enterprise Ireland's strategy for the internationalisation of Ireland's services sector, aims to promote a significant increase in exports sales in this sector by 2015 while Enterprise Ireland's "Going Global Fund" is aimed specifically at locally traded companies that have successfully established businesses in Ireland and wish to explore opportunities to sell abroad. EI's Growth Fund is designed to assist small to medium sized clients achieve greater competitiveness by improving their export potential. This will be achieved by increasing gross output and productivity whilst also maintaining existing employment levels.

Enterprise Ireland (EI) has carried out an in-depth sectoral analysis to identify areas with most potential for services export growth. The market opportunity in 19 individual sub-sectors has been assessed and an action plan developed for each, in consultation with clients and industry players to accelerate international sales and maximise the number achieving scale. The Internationally Traded Services (ITS) business unit client group is expected to contribute in a significant way to scaling exports in the medium/long term. My Department is in the process of extending the Services Industries Order 2003, to incorporate the area of educational services. The education sector provides significant opportunities for Ireland to increase exports and value added in international education and to develop new initiatives in the training and executive development areas.

My Department is also working on the transposition of the EU services directive which should be finalised by the end of this year. The directive is designed to create a genuine EU single market in services with benefits for Irish service providers and Irish consumers. A fully functioning single market in services will substantially enhance Ireland's competitiveness as well as that of the EU as whole.

The agencies are actively assessing ways in which collaboration may be enhanced or systemised to the ultimate benefit of client companies. Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland co-operate very closely in relation to the internationally traded services area. Joint work is currently under way in: fostering competence centres in the services sector; overseas marketing on ministerial led trade missions; and in progressing the development of capabilities and competencies critical to services. The IVI Consortium Competence Centre (IVIC3), with support from EI, represents a large consortium of companies with common research needs in the area of IT services and IT innovation. The consortium is comprised of a number of private and public sector organisations including Intel, Microsoft, SAP, ENZO, Xilinx, BP, Boston Consulting, ESB, Ernst & Young, Aviva, Compugen, Chevron and Air Tricity. It is expected that as the competence centre is established, that other companies (particularly SMEs), will join.

The expert group on future skills needs recently published a report Skills in Creativity, Design and Innovation. This report contains a number of recommendations, which are relevant to building an economy based on creativity and innovation.

Arising from the work of the IDA services innovation team, a specific strategy and action plan to promote services innovation and R&D in all IDA companies, not just services companies, has been identified. IDA Ireland is implementing this action plan, aimed at providing a suite of support measures to promote and develop services innovation within multinational companies.