Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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917. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the level of exports by Enterprise Ireland backed companies for the years 2023 and 2024; the expected level of these types of exports for 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42344/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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To achieve sustainable, diversified growth and enhanced economic resilience, it is vital that the Irish-owned enterprise sector fulfils its potential to scale and succeed on global markets. As an agency of my Department, Enterprise Ireland (EI) is responsible for helping prospective and emerging exporters to build company scale and expand their reach.

Companies supported by EI exported goods and services worth €34.6 billion in 2023. The impact of activity by EI client companies can also be seen in the €39.3 billion spent in the Irish economy in 2023 which includes approximately €11.7 billion spent on payroll.

Enterprise Ireland recently announced its Export Results for 2024 which showed client company exports increased by 7% to €36.75 billion in 2024 – representing a 95% increase in exports in the ten-year period from 2014. This is a strong performance from EI’s client base, with growth across all overseas territories demonstrating Irish businesses’ agility and resilience in creating new growth opportunities in challenging economic times.

Exports to Europe grew by 4% to €10.63 billion, representing 29% of total exports. This is the first time that exports to this region have surpassed the UK, making Europe now the largest export territory for EI clients. There was strong export growth across a number of key sectors including Food & Sustainability, Digital Technologies, and Lifesciences. Enterprise Ireland client companies spent €42.65 billion in the Irish economy in 2024, including €13 billion on payroll.

EI's Strategy for 2025-2029 sets out a number of initiatives to create resilient, internationally focused Irish enterprises, and ambitious targets are set for export growth and market diversification of the EI client base. This includes growing the total value of exports reported by EI client companies on an annual basis and driving diversification. The export results for 2025 will be available in Q2 2026.

Market diversification remains a key priority. There are 190 overseas market advisers employed through Enterprise Ireland, with 156 of these being outside of the US. The forthcoming Action Plan on Market Diversification will provide a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to enhance Ireland’s economic and trading relationships with new and emerging markets. The enterprise agencies will continue to ensure that SMEs, as the backbone of our economy, have the tools, resources, and strategic support they need to succeed in a challenging and competitive global environment. EI also offer a range of market access grants to assist companies that are starting out on their export journey. These include the Market Discovery Fund and the Strategic Marketing Review.

I am very conscious of the current and emerging uncertainties for business in global markets. In this context, Enterprise Ireland is proactively engaging with client companies, on a one-to-one basis, as they continue to explore mitigation strategies to navigate these challenges, and to assess what opportunities may arise.