Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if her Department has a strategy in place to increase south-east Asia investment and export opportunities and increasing enterprise opportunities in the region; the details of all trade missions to the region by her Department in each of the years 2011 to 2017; and the trips planned in 2018, in tabular form. [10824/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department recognises the many opportunities that exist for Irish businesses in South East Asia. Total exports of goods and services from Ireland to the Asia Pacific region exceeded €25 billion in 2015 and are continuing to grow.

My Department is actively engaging in the upcoming whole-of-government strategy for the Asia-Pacific Region. This strategy will chart a path for increased economic activity within the region. Led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and set out in the Programme for Government, the AsiaPac strategy is broad in scope, incorporating the development of opportunities and links relating to cultural, diaspora, research and education as well as trade.

In addition, my Department has trade and investment strategies aimed at ensuring that Irish enterprises can take advantage of existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the EU and Asia Pacific regions. We are working with EU partners to expand the portfolio of FTAs, with current priorities including Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Enterprise Ireland (EI) is the Government agency responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in global markets. EI’s Singapore office is the regional headquarters for the ASEAN region, comprising of 10 countries and leads the strategy to grow Irish exports to this important growth region.

There are currently 300 EI client companies exporting to the ASEAN region, with 128 of these having a local market presence. Indigenous exports to the region have grown by over 50% since 2011 and are now valued at €312M (2016).

Singapore remains the gateway for many Irish companies with regional opportunities in the following growth sectors:

- Aviation/Aerospace/Travel Technologies;

- Digital Technologies including Fintech, Telecoms and IOT;

- Construction, Energy, Green Build and Manufacturing

- Healthcare, including Digital Health

- Education, EduTech and HRTech

In response to the growing opportunities for Irish companies in the ASEAN region, Enterprise Ireland has increased the numbers of executives in the region from 2 to 7 over the last four years and continually reviews its strategy and resourcing for the region.

In respect of IDA Ireland, its Growth Markets Division was established in 2009 to explore and develop new markets in Growth Market Regions, including the sourcing of investment from South East Asia/ASEAN markets (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Brunei).

IDA Ireland has a Director in Singapore who oversees IDA Ireland’s strategy in relation to developing and winning investment from countries in that area, including regular visits to target companies.

- IDA Ireland is targeting investment from the region, across a broad range of sectors such as ICT,

- Digital Media, Life Sciences, Financial Services, Engineering, Aerospace, Cleantech, and new emerging internet companies as appropriate to each market.

With regard to trade missions, there have been 18 Ministerial and Presidential visits to the region over the past six years. The following table is the complete list of high level visits since 2011. Each of these visits would have included a trade component.

Enterprise Ireland will announce its 2018 Trade Mission Schedule over the coming weeks.