John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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144. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which her Department, together with Ireland’s trade agencies, is supporting small and medium-sized exporters, particularly agri-food and advanced manufacturing firms to expand into new markets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65256/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Supporting exporting businesses is a key priority for this Government. Successful exporting businesses protect jobs and enhance our national resilience to emerging economic trends.

Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia provide direct support to indigenous exporting businesses from the advanced manufacturing and agri-food sectors respectively.

My Department plays a central role in coordinating Ireland’s overall international trade promotional work and works closely with the State agencies and their line departments.

The Government Trade Forum, which met on nine occasions this year, has consistently focused on key exporting sectors in the economy. The Forum has heard directly from senior representatives from exporting businesses in Ireland, including from the medtech, pharma, semi-conductors and agri-food sectors.

The Headquarters Market Team, which is co-chaired by a senior official in my Department, ensures there is strong coordination across relevant Departments and agencies engaged in trade promotion activities. The HQ Market Team also has responsibility for the implementation of the Action Plan on Market Diversification, published in August.

My Department also supports the agencies overseas in a broad range of activities to promote trade. Under the Trade and Investment Strategy 2022-2026, our Ambassadors lead Local and Regional Market Teams, which includes all of the relevant State agencies. These twenty-five teams around the globe provide important direction and effective coordination of Team Ireland’s economic and promotional activities at a local and regional level in key overseas markets.

Minister-led trade missions are key components of Team Ireland's trade promotion efforts of which there will have been approximately fifty by the end of 2025. In 2025, agricultural trade missions have visited the USA, Japan & Korea (including a visit to both the Seoul Food event and the International EXPO in Osaka, Japan), China and Mexico. These trade missions have provided excellent opportunities to support small and medium-sized exporters in key markets.