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The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, T.D., has told the Dáil that Ireland’s network of embassies has made considerable progress in restoring Ireland’s international reputation and in driving economic recovery through the promotion of trade, tourism and inward investment.

Responding to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade report, The Contribution of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to Economic Recovery, the Tánaiste said:

“The work of the embassy network to facilitate trade and inward investment, support Irish jobs and promote Ireland’s economic recovery results in real economic benefits for Ireland. This engagement, in close cooperation with the State agencies abroad, has helped to achieve the export growth which has driven our economic recovery, with export levels now significantly higher than their pre-crisis peak in 2007. It has helped to get us to a position where Enterprise Ireland last year saw the highest net gain in employment for a decade in the Irish exporting companies it supports, where IDA Ireland achieved the highest level of net job creation from foreign direct investment in more than a decade and where agri-food exports promoted by Bord Bia reached an all-time high.

“The Programme for Government affirmed a determination to restore Ireland’s international reputation. In furthering this objective, our embassy network has undertaken a sustained campaign of outreach to international political and economic leaders, investors, media and opinion-formers, to counter inaccurate coverage of Ireland and spread positive messages about the prospects of the Irish economy.

“These efforts have ensured that Ireland’s position is now better understood by those who make and influence decisions which affect our economic prospects and helped to build renewed international confidence in Ireland’s economic future. It has created the conditions in which the Government has been able to achieve progress at European and international levels on key policy objectives relating to economic recovery, including our successful efforts to deal with the promissory note.”

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