Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 125: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will detail the enterprise development activity of each embassy and consular office abroad in the past 12 months. [20909/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Ireland has 56 Embassies, 7 multilateral missions as well as 10 Consulates General and other offices overseas. While the specific activity of each mission in relation to the promotion of Ireland's economic and trade interests will necessarily differ, depending on market conditions and other factors, bilateral Embassies and Consulates in particular have a role to play in promoting trade and investment opportunities. Our Embassies and other offices abroad are generally small with one or two diplomats in many cases. Given the multi-faceted nature of their work and the wide range of promotional activity across the Embassy network it is not feasible to provide a detailed breakdown of the activity of each Embassy. However, I can assure the Deputy that the promotion of Irish trade and exports is a key priority for my Department and the entire Embassy network.

Embassies are engaged on a continuous basis in efforts to promote Irish products and services and in looking for new opportunities for Irish exporters in markets overseas. They frequently provide a platform to market Irish companies to a global audience. Embassies regularly host promotional events for, and in association, with State Agencies and they also actively contribute to the organisation and conduct of trade missions, including those where Enterprise Ireland client companies travel to markets overseas. The Trade and Promotion Division of my Department works closely with Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in planning such missions.

In putting together programmes of trade and promotional activity for Ministers and other visitors to their region, the Embassy network ensures that incoming high level visits are leveraged for maximum impact. The Saint Patrick's Day period is, of course, an occasion for particularly intense activity by the Embassy network in this context but such promotional activity is ongoing throughout the year. As a matter of course, Ambassadors and other Embassy staff work constantly with key political, economic, business and media contacts in their countries of accreditation. The success of high level visits as well as of day to day promotional activity to advance Ireland's interests overseas is dependent on the Embassies nurturing these contacts in what is often a highly competitive environment, particularly in the major and emerging markets.

Embassies also have a key role to play in assisting in the resolution of problematic regulatory issues and gaining access to new markets for Irish products and services. Under the Government's Trade Strategy, 27 priority markets have been identified for the integrated promotion of trade, tourism and investment. These include the BRIC countries as well as other key emerging markets. In these countries, our Ambassador chairs a local market team which consists of the Embassy and representatives from the relevant State Agencies in the field. These market teams submit annual market plans as well as six monthly reports of activity, which are reviewed by the Export Trade Council, which I chair.

I would add that the role of my Department and the Embassy network in trade promotion and in building Ireland's economic reputation abroad is, of course, complementary to the wide range of enterprise development activity which other Government Departments and the State Agencies pursue in the domestic context to support Irish business in entering international markets. Enterprise Ireland and other State Agencies have a range of programmes in place to stimulate entrepreneurship, to encourage innovation, to provide funding and business space for enterprise, to assist companies to achieve scale and develop competitiveness and to develop management capabilities and strategies for growth.