Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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227. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way he and his Department through the various embassies abroad continue to establish trade links and trading partners in anticipation of the effects of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18639/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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My Department, working with state agencies, is working to support Irish businesses diversify into new markets, products and services, as well as intensifying our efforts in existing markets. The Government’s new trade and investment strategy, Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World, sets out our priorities and the actions to achieve these.

Local Market Teams, which are chaired by the relevant Ambassador, comprise the representatives of the Embassy and relevant State agencies. These teams submit annual market plans to the Export Trade Council, which I chair, bringing together Ministers and heads of agencies with a focus on Ireland’s trade and investment. In addition, as part of the new economic diplomacy initiative, commercial attachés based in our Embassies in Jakarta, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Bucharest, offer local market insights to agencies and to business. A similar role is undertaken by economic development officers based in Nairobi and Abuja.

All Embassies, as underlined in Ireland Connected, facilitate the pursuit of trade opportunities in every location, promoting Ireland as a great place to live, study, visit and do business. Our 80-strong network of Embassies and Consulates also work in close co-operation with state agencies to deliver trade and investment missions. The overall number of ministerial-led trade missions has increased substantially in recent years. These high level missions, led by a range of Ministers across all Departments, complement the ongoing year-round work of our Embassy network and agencies in-market, including Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland, in promoting awareness of and confidence in Ireland as a place to invest and do business and in showcasing Ireland’s unique strengths.

We are committed to intensifying the number, focus, alignment, and market reach of trade and investment missions and events in 2017, in order to deepen existing relationships, open new doors to trade and investment, and forge new opportunities.