Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 33: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the division of responsibilities for foreign trade between his Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs; the number of officials that have been transferred from his Department to the Department of Foreign Affairs to help it to carry out its role; the new initiatives in the foreign trade area that have resulted from this division of responsibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21074/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The new arrangements provide specifically for the transfer of responsibility to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of certain trade promotion functions, including, specifically, management of the Export Trade Council, as well as responsibility for Joint Economic Commissions.

The new Export Trade Council, being established following the commitment in the Programme for Government and which subsumes the role of the former Foreign Trade Council, will oversee the implementation of the recommendations in the Strategy for Trade, Tourism and Investment to 2015, which was launched in September last. The Council will now to be chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and I will also be a member, together with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Mr. Leo Varadkar, the Minister for Research and Innovation Mr. Sean Sherlock and the Minister for Trade and Development, Ms. Jan O'Sullivan.

Responsibility for the organisation and management of Joint Economic Commissions, and for setting up any new Joint Economic Commissions, is now also a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Joint Economic Commissions are formal Intergovernmental bodies that provide a forum for discussing issues that relate to the development of economic and business cooperation and scientific and technological cooperation. Ireland currently operates Joint Economic Commissions with five key growth markets.

In relation to leading Trade Missions to foreign export markets, the specific circumstances of the target market and of the company sectors involved, will influence Ministerial participation. My intention is to maximise the potential of these events to bring Irish businesses into direct contact with business opportunities abroad, by targeting sectors and countries where there is significant potential. While the programme of trade missions for the remainder of 2011 has yet to be finalised, I can confirm that I and the Minister of State in my Department will participate in missions to the Southern U.S., the U.K., and Australia before the end of the year, facilitated by Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland.

The Government is very committed to developing Trade with the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), which are exciting export markets with high potential for growth.

My Department retains lead responsibility for Trade Policy including policy within the framework of the EU Common Commercial Policy and the World Trade Organization. Discussions on free trade agreements, liberalization of world trade in the context of the WTO's Doha Round or using other avenues to expand opportunities for our exporters are directly linked to the sectoral enterprise and investment policies that are being developed by my Department and its Agencies. It is it is therefore essential that I ensure a coherent approach between export strategies, investment policies and the broad trade policy agenda. Export control licensing for the export of military or dual use goods will remain in my Department. In addition, my Department will continue to manage the compilation and analysis of detailed trade statistics, and will continue to be active on relevant other Bilateral Trade promotion issues.

Three officials, who had been working in the Bilateral Trade Unit of my Department, transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade last month. The transfer of these trade promotion functions, which took effect just last month, will seek to enhance the levels of cooperation and coordination of the relevant State bodies with the presence abroad provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. That Department's Embassy and Consulate network, which is the largest overseas representation of Ireland's resources, will play an important role in facilitating trade and building linkages worldwide, and builds on the existing high level of official coordination in the promotion of Ireland's economic interests overseas. The new enhanced arrangements for trade promotion activities will be provided for in a Memorandum of Understanding between both Departments and the agency.