Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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649. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to have a trade mission to Spain; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1996/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland (EI) has an office located in the Spanish capital of Madrid which offers a large network of contacts and support across various sectors for EI client companies. In that regard, EI is playing a key role in supporting companies seeking out opportunities in Spain across a range of sectors including in telecoms and pharmaceuticals.

The value of EI client company exports to Spain reached €326 million in 2016 with over 350 EI client companies reporting exports to Spain in 2016.

EI has an established process for working with companies as they identify opportunities and begin to enter new markets. EI’s overseas structure through its network of 33 overseas offices and its extended Pathfinder (Trade Consultant) network has the capability of providing client companies with the appropriate support in markets where there are identified opportunities matched by client capability and client demand. The activities of the overseas network are supported by the Market Research Centre and Strategic Marketing Unit based in Dublin along with a range of financial and capability development supports aimed at helping client companies to compete and win sales in overseas markets.

To support the internationalisation activity of companies based in Ireland, EI offers a programme of trade missions, trade fairs and knowledge events giving companies the opportunity to connect with existing and new customers, to access key decision makers, to increase sales in international markets and to exchange ideas.

In general, proposals for Ministerial led trade missions and events are developed on the basis of priority markets and specific sectoral interests of EI client companies. In 2017, EI ran 57 ministerial led trade events. Insofar as 2018 in concerned, the programme of ministerial-led trade missions and events is currently in the process of being finalised and I will ask my officials and agencies to include consideration of a formal Trade Mission to Spain to augment the ongoing engagements and activities in that market over the course of 2018.