Burke meets business leaders and Westmeath natives on US trade mission

Minister for Enterprise, Peter Burke last week visited the east coast of the USA, with the objective of increasing sales for Irish companies, as well as cementing current relationships with US firms based in Ireland; he also met a number of Westmeath natives based there.

Minister Burke said while the schedule was gruelling, he can see the value of trade missions when it comes to building relationships and selling Ireland to US companies.

“After spending five days on the east coast, focused solely on engaging with businesses, I am hugely impressed by the offering of Irish companies in the US, their growth in a short period of time and the openness of the US market for Irish products and services.

“Last year, Irish companies had total exports of $295 billion, which has increased 60 per cent in the last five years alone. Irish companies employ over 100,000 people across the 50 states, 78,000 of these are employed by Enterprise Ireland client companies. Ireland is the ninth largest source of FDI to the US, which is remarkable considering our size and population.

“On the IDA side, we met a number of significant US companies who have a large footprint in Ireland; Boston Scientific, who employ 7,500 people in Ireland, IBM employing 3,000 people in Ireland with a recent job announcement of a further 800, State Street who employ 2,000, JP Morgan, Citibank and many more. Many of their management teams featured people born in Ireland.

“I also met with two companies, both considering increasing their investment in Ireland and I am hopeful this will yield positive results in the coming months.

“While my initial focus on being appointed minister 15 weeks ago was small and medium sized Irish businesses, which are the backbone of our economy, I am also responsible for policy around our larger companies and ensuring there is a regional balance of such investment and high-value jobs, which I was able to stress on this trip. It was heartening to see the reception we received, and the hugely positive reaction of large corporations to their operations in Ireland.

“...Over the course of the five days I had 33 meetings, as well as a a number of further engagements where I met key decision-makers and was able to talk about the benefits of doing business in Ireland.

“It was also nice to get the opportunity to attend a reception at the residence of the Consul General in Boston, Mullingar’s own Sighle Fitzgerald. Sighle has been Consul General for New England since last year, after serving stints as a diplomat in Washington, Brussels and in Northern Ireland. I had met Sighle and made the local connection when I was Minister for European Affairs, so it was great to meet her in Boston too.

“At the reception I met Mike Carey, originally from Rochfortbridge, as well as Kevin Nugent, of Patrick Street, Mullingar (see picture). It amazes me that no matter where I travel, I will always meet proud Westmeath men and women, all eager to catch up about the goings on in Ireland.”