Minister of State Heads Trade Visit to London

Ireland’s Minister of State for Development, Trade Promotion and North-South Co-operation, Seán Sherlock, TD, led a trade-focused visit to London during March and represented Ireland and the Government at Britain’s pre-eminent St Patrick’s Day reception.

During the mission Minister Sherlock delivered the keynote address at the World Water Tech Investment Summit. There are some 60 Enterprise Ireland clients active in the Waste and Waste Water sector spanning High Potential Start Ups to large companies. Key export markets include the UK and France, while the sector employs over 3,200 people in Ireland and generates exports worth over €360 million.

The Minister also addressed the CHAMP St Patrick's Day Reception at the Palace of Westminster, the key St. Patrick’s Day event in Britain.  CHAMP is a not-for-profit organisation which promotes peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland, and throughout Ireland and Britain.

Speaking ahead of the visit, the Minister had said: “I am delighted to represent Ireland at this year’s CHAMP reception. While we still have some way to go in delivering on the promise of lasting peace, reconciliation and prosperity, the Stormont House Agreement has renewed our collective efforts and offers a clear path forward in Northern Ireland. The recent State visit by President Michael D Higgins was a testament to the strong bonds that exist between our two islands.”

Addressing the potential of the trade mission, he continued:“Ireland continues to enhance its reputation as a world leader in science and technology and I am pleased to say that we are now in the Global Top 20 for the quality of our scientific research.“ We had the fastest growing economy in the European Union in 2014, with GDP growth of almost 5%, and we expect to retain this lead position in 2015.We have a young, dynamic and skilled population, and our capacity to grow in the future remains strong.

 “The aim of the World Water-Tech Investment Summit is to pool ideas and experiences from around the world to accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies and I am delighted that Enterprise Ireland, working in close association with the Embassy of Ireland, is the headline sponsor of this summit. The level of participation of EI client companies this week shows the ability of Irish companies to compete and partner on an international scale.

Minister Sherlock was also host to a number of networking events, which provided key networking opportunities for client companies to strengthen their business connections within the UK and global market.