Cowen announces export agreements worth €100m

Export agreements between Irish companies and their US counterparts worth €100 million have been announced by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who is leading a trade mission to the US.

Among the deals agreed at the Enterprise Ireland event is a worldwide partnership between clothing manufacturer Calvin Klein and Cork-based firm Premium Golf Brands to manufacture and distribute its golfing range.

Other deals include a new link-up between Irish firm Information Mosaic, which develops tailored IT systems for the financial services sector, and financial services outsourcing provider Broadridge.

The contract, along with two other recent deals, is believed to be worth around €20 million to the Dublin-based Information Mosaic and is expected to help create up to 50 new highly-skilled jobs there over the next two years.

Another agreement is the opening of the first Lily O'Brien's café in Manhattan.

Mr Cowen said “securing export sales has always been at the heart of Ireland’s economic success but its importance increases exponentially in the current economic conditions.”

“In the years ahead, overseas sales will be the single most important factor in sustaining employment and wealth creation in Ireland,” the Taoiseach said in a statement.

At an Enterprise Ireland breakfast in New York this morning, Mr Cowen said the size of the trade mission showed the continued importance of the US market for Irish industry. He said Ireland had a "keen of our keen desire to further accelerate the dynamic growth between our two countries that has been a dramatic feature of recent years."

Mr Cowen noted Ireland is now the 10th largest investor in the United States and Irish companies currently employ over 82,000 people across all 50 US states. 

This afternoon Mr Cowen brief business leaders at a US-Ireland Council event hosted by Tourism Ireland on the Government's strategy to tackle the challenges of a contracting global economy and to encourage further investment into Ireland.

Tonight the Taoiseach will speak at the annual American Ireland Fund St Patrick’s Day celebration in Washington, which is expected to be attended by leading figures in Washington, including vice president Joe Biden.

Tomorrow, Mr Cowen will meet President Barack Obama at the White House and present him with the traditional bowl of shamrock. This will be the first time St Patrick’s Day will be celebrated at the White House since both Mr Obama and the Taoiseach took office.

The First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, are also in the US.

While in New York the Taoiseach also launched a major review of Ireland-US relations. Mr Cowen said it was the first significant review of diplomatic relations with the United States since the 1930s and could re-energise and renew the relationship.

Key objectives in the report include new possibilities for young people to work and live in the United States on a renewable two-year working visa and a strong partnership with the Irish-American community and with US authorities in caring for the "forgotten Irish".

Mr Cowen said he was "acutely aware" of what being "undocumented" Irish in the United States meant, with difficulties on a "human, personal basis". But the Taoiseach said the issue had to be dealt with on a policy, rather than personal, level.

Mr Cowen has said he hopes to make progress on securing a new visa agreement with the United States during his visit there for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

He favours a new deal that would see thousands of workers travel freely between the two countries for two years. A similar arrangement between the US and Australia sees up to 10,000 visas issued every year.

A fast-track naturalisation regime for those with Irish great-grandparents who have studied in Ireland, annual arrangements to commemorate the Famine in the US, and the expansion of Ireland’s consular network are also earmarked.

Additional reporting PA