Richard Bruton, Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovations, is an old India hand. He first visited India in 1978, as a student. Since assuming his ministerial position, this is Bruton second visit in two years.
In an interview with Business Line , the minister expressed the hope that Indian companies would look at Ireland as a possible base for expansion into the European Union and beyond. Edited excerpts:
Do you plan to convince India to relaxing the rules for liquor, given that Guinness (beer) is one of Ireland’s best-known exports?
We are part of the EU. Negotiations on behalf of all members are undertaken by the European Commission. It is very much on the agenda.
India is probably the biggest market in the world in whisky terms.
(But), trade negotiations are a difficult area. India will have defensive interests.
In 2011, Ireland came up with a visa waiver scheme, which included India. What was its impact on tourism and investments?
It was part of a new openness that we have developed. We have reformed our visas for workers and investors. At this point, there will be a significant number of investors coming to Ireland. There has been a significant fall in property prices. The banks have faced some difficulties but there is some good value to be achieved in Ireland in investment terms. And, we have seen a number of overseas investors come in to tackle those opportunities.
Including Indians?
Yes.
Any numbers?
I do not have numbers. But, it is an attractive offering at the moment. In terms of workers, we have a work-permit system, which allows companies to bring in workers. About 40 per cent of the work permits that we issue to non-European nationals go to Indians.
There is a very significant number of Indians studying in Ireland, which is a growth area for us. But a lot of Indians are also interested in working in Ireland. So, 16 per cent of the Irish workforce is non-Irish and about 3 per cent of that is Indian.
Have you identified sectors for Indian investment other than business outsourcing?
There is a significant Indian presence in pharmaceuticals. There are already three or four Indian companies that have invested in the sector, primarily by acquisition. But we hope they will see Ireland as a base to develop both manufacturing and other activities for the European market.
Medical devices and financial services are the other sectors, as also aviation leasing and education. ICT technology is also a key sector.
In the education sector, we have set the target of doubling the number of students over the next three to four years.
Has there been a significant increase in Indian tourist arrivals in Ireland?
There has been a 20 per cent increase in tourist numbers.
Is the increase large because the base is small?
We annually get about 25,000 Indian tourists, which is not really small.
There are 370,000 annual visitors to the UK from India. We want to get 10 per cent of those.
We have gone from 14,000 two years ago, to 25,000 this year, and we hope that in the next three to four years it will reach 37,000.