BRITISH FOREIGN secretary William Hague and Tánaiste Eamonn Gilmore launched the first British Irish Chamber of Commerce in Dublin last night.
The occasion was timed to coincide with the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland.
Mr Gilmore welcomed the establishment of the chamber. “With two-way trade estimated at €1 billion a week, the time is certainly ripe for such a chamber.” Mr Hague said he was “heartened” that trade between the two countries had grown in the past two years. “We want to work with Ireland to create an environment that is conducive to long-term sustainable growth,” he added.
The chamber has 21 founding members, more than twice the target originally set for the body. Acting chief executive Peter Byrne said that this was a “testament to the importance of the business relationship” between the countries.
The founding members are AIB, Aviva Health Insurance Ireland, Bank of Ireland, CRH, Diageo, ESB, Farrell Grant Sparks, Fyffes, Glen Dimplex, Greencore, HK International, Kingspan, KPMG, Lloyds Ireland, Marks Spencer, Mason Hayes + Curran, Oriel Wind Farm, PwC, Smurfit Kappa, The Irish Times and Ulster Bank.
The chamber aims to boost trade links between Ireland and Britain. Ireland was the UK’s fifth largest export market in 2009, with £24 billion exports in goods and services. The UK buys 16 per cent of total Irish exports and is our largest trading partner. Ireland exported €13.5 billion in goods to the UK in 2009.
The chamber’s first president, Fergal Naughton, a director of Glen Dimplex, said its establishment would “further develop opportunities for both countries to increase trade with each other”.
The chamber will be based initially at the RDS in Dublin and is seeking to hire a full-time chief executive.
Ireland’s Ambassador to the UK, Bobby McDonagh, and his British counterpart in Dublin, Julian King, have been made honorary presidents.
