World demand for Irish
Innovation set to grow
Interview with Frank Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland is the State agency charged with
the task of supporting indigenous Irish companies
in developing and promoting their offerings in
world markets.
C.E.O. Financial spoke to Chief Executive, Frank
Ryan to discuss the role that the agency plays and
the progress that is being made.
How would you describe the role that
Enterprise Ireland plays in the national
economy?
Enterprise Ireland are responsible for assisting
indigenous Irish companies in tackling international
markets. Promoting Irish exports of products and
services is our core remit.
We have a total of 850 staff, 150 of whom are based
throughout our 31 offices around the world. We also
have 9 satellite offices around Ireland. Enterprise
Ireland works with 6,000 Irish companies on an
annual basis.
We are very thorough when it comes to figures and
like to base all of our communications on proven
statistics. Based on a mid year survey of our clients
in 2010, their responses would suggest that Ireland’s
indigenous exports will reach approximately €13.7
billion for 2010.
The country has shown continuous export growth
for 18 months in a row. This means that we have
the 2nd best export growth in the EU, with only
Germany performing better than Ireland in
this regard.