Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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36. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide the selection process for the 40 businesses which met with Irish Ambassadors, consuls general and senior diplomats over a three day conference starting 12 January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2470/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The three-day conference, Representing the Global Island,which I convened last week, brought together more than 90 Irish Ambassadors, Consuls General and senior diplomats with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Government Ministers, other Government departments, the State agencies and representatives of Irish companies, as well as third level institutions and representatives of the creative sector.

The conference was also addressed by high level speakers including EU High Representative, Ms Federica Mogherini; the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Mary Robinson; and the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, Amina Mohammed.

At the conference, the Taoiseach and I together launched the Foreign Policy Review, The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World, which reflects the importance of my Department’s role in ongoing efforts to support recovery, growth, and job creation, in particular through trade, tourism, education, investment; and in the enhancement of Ireland’s international reputation.

The international promotion of trade, tourism, investment and education services is of course a key priority for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with its Embassy network and was a central area of focus throughout the three-day conference.

A number of sessions were devoted to an overall theme of ‘Partnerships for Prosperity’. In the session entitled: ‘Where embassies add value - a dialogue with global Irish companies’, a panel of CEOs from three Irish companies with significant global reach offered their perspectives on Ireland’s place in the global trading economy and in particular, on how the Embassy network can work with and add value to such companies in the overall interest of Ireland. In order to ensure an appropriately diverse representation of views, having regard to industry sector, geographical spread and gender, the following panellists were invited to address the conference: Mr Dómhnal Slattery, Chief Executive Officer, Avolon; Ms Siobhán Talbot, Group Managing Director, Glanbia; Mr Dave Murphy, CEO, PM Group.

In order to focus attention on emerging and high potential markets, four Round-Table Discussions were convened, covering four market regions - Asia, Latin America, Africa and Middle East. These sessions, which involved limited numbers, having regard to space considerations, were intended to look at market opportunities and challenges in the respective regions, as well as providing practical insights into the value of the Embassy network and to offer ideas on how the interaction between the network and Irish business could be further enhanced. The discussions brought the relevant Ambassadors, Consuls General and State agency representatives together with companies active in the region, as well as with members of the business community and their representative organisations.

A number of other conference events were also attended by business representatives. Invitations to a number of sessions were extended to the private sector members of the Export Trade Council, which I chair, which facilitates strengthened cooperation and coordination across all Government Departments and State agencies involved in the promotion and development of trade, tourism, investment and education services, and oversees the implementation of the Government Trade, Tourism and Investment Strategy, and its Review, published early last year.

The invitation to business people to participate at the conference took account of their engagement with my Department and the Embassy network and suggestions from the State agencies with whom we co-operate very closely. I very much value the contribution they made to the success of the conference and I can assure the Deputy that we will continue to work closely with Irish business at home and abroad to build economic recovery and achieve the Government target of full employment.