Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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135. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to have a trade mission to Canada; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19929/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Canada has been identified as a priority market under the Government's strategy for promoting trade, tourism and investment Trading and Investing in a Smart Economy. Our merchandise exports to Canada increased by 11% in 2012 to over €780 million and early indications are that this positive trend has continued into 2013, with merchandise exports up by 12% in the first 2 months of this year. Ultimately, the contracts won and contacts made during trade missions lead to job creation and long-term economic benefits for Ireland. As the Deputy will be aware, I visited Canada over the St. Patrick's Day period last year. During this visit, I held meetings with political and business leaders and took part in a range of trade and investment promotion events organised in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA.

My Colleague, Minister of State Costello will lead an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Canada from 11 to 13 June this year. This trade mission will provide the opportunity to develop the excellent bilateral relations that exist between our two countries and support Irish companies to win business in the market. The programme for the visit is currently being developed by Enterprise Ireland in close consultation with my Department's Trade and Promotion Division and our Embassy in Ottawa.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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136. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is considering dispatching officials from his Department of EU delegations run by the European External Action Service in countries where we currently do not have an embassy or on-the-ground diplomatic representation; if he will consider such a move in view of the fact that trade and exports from here will be a key to economic recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19763/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The European External Action Service (EEAS) supports the work of the High Representative in defining and implementing an effective and coherent foreign policy of the European Union. It does not have an economic or trade remit. Officers serving in EEAS missions serve overall EU interests and are not permitted to represent the interest of individual Member States, including their own. While Irish officials serving in an EEAS mission can, and frequently do, contribute to the furtherance of good relations between the EU and her/his country of accreditation, thereby helping create a positive climate for trade between EU Member states and that third country, there is no basis for the appointment of an Irish official to an EEAS mission for the specific purpose of promoting Irish trade interests. I would also note that our Embassy network continues to be strongly focussed on supporting opportunities for trade, investment and tourism in all their countries of accreditation, including where they are not resident, assisted in many cases by our Honorary Consuls and local Irish business networks and organisations.

These activities include identifying specific export and investment opportunities, helping companies build contact networks, organising trade-focussed visits in coordination with the state agencies, lobbying for market access and addressing regulatory obstacles, helping to negotiate international agreements on tax and in other key sectors, promoting Ireland as a destination for tourism and for study, and presenting clear information to key opinion-formers on Ireland’s strategy for economic recovery.

Although such activity is naturally limited in countries where we do not have resident missions, we are committed to assisting Irish exporters in these markets as far as possible. This was demonstrated most recently over the St Patrick’s Day period, when high-level promotional visits to Indonesia, the Philippines and New Zealand were organised by the Embassies in Singapore and Canberra respectively, in coordination with the state agencies.