Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 313: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if just wages and conditions for Chinese workers was discussed as part of any trade agreement signed with the Chinese Government. [19943/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Negotiating trade agreements is a matter of trade policy which comes within the competence of the EU Commission. Accordingly, no bilateral trade agreements were signed between Ireland and China.

Three Memoranda of Understanding were signed between Ireland and China during the recent visit of Vice Premier Xi Jinping to Ireland and the subsequent trade mission that I led to China in March. These memoranda referred to important sectors of the economy such as investment promotion, services and science and technology.

The matters covered by the Memoranda and where Ireland and China agreed to closer cooperation included mutual exchange of information on investment promotion policies and available supports, looking at new initiatives to encourage business-to-business networking opportunities in the services sector, and on the promotion of bilateral scientific and technological cooperation.

A further Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Enterprise Ireland and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, with the objective of exchanging trade information and related data.

As the documents signed related to information exchanges, promoting business to business exchanges and exchanges among academics and agencies on science and technology, issues related to labour market conditions did not arise in this context.