Trade between the Republic and three countries in eastern Europe - Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary - has increased by 200 per cent in the last three years, according to Mr Gerry Murphy, Enterprise Ireland's director of industrial products and Europe.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Joint Central and East European Business Association at IBEC yesterday, he said that the existing $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) investment by Irish companies in these countries was likely to increase with the "impending enlargement of the EU".

The new association includes the Ireland-Poland Business Association, the Irish-Hungarian Economic Association and the Irish-Czech Business Association.

There has been a shift in attitude in the Republic towards central and eastern Europe, according to Mr Murphy, from one of fear of the implications for EU structural transfers to the Republic, to a positive programme of rapid growth by Irish companies in these countries. Apart from well publicised investments by CRH and AIB - which now employs 13,000 people in banking in Poland - in the last two years, 12 medium-sized Irish companies have made investments in these countries. Typically they are in publishing, food, architectural and engineering services and software development, said Mr Murphy.