Press Release

Immediate 22^nd Dec 2009

New Services Directive effective 1^st January 2010 will give major boost to Services exporters, state Irish Exporters Association.

The EC Directive on Services (Directive 2006/123/EC) is currently being transposed into Irish law with a target date of the 28^th Dec 2009 .The Directive will become law across the EU27 on the Ist Jan 2010, and will create a ‘’single market’ for commercial services .

John Whelan CEO of the Irish Exporters Association said;

‘’The Directive has significant implications for the development of the services export sector in Ireland , and should result in a 10% growth in services exports to mainland Europe over the next year. We expect there will be significant opportunities arising in outsourced business services , professional and consultancy services , construction related services, agriculture and bloodstock services , supply chain management, franchising, intellectual services , creative sales marketing services and education.’’

Mr Whelan went on to say;

‘’Currently , Irish exporters face barriers of two main kinds in Europe ; wide ranging difficulties in setting up branches abroad and recruiting Irish personnel with free access to them; regulatory blockages and discrimination , resulting in high cost in trying to meet the many local regulations. The new Directive will eliminate these barriers’’

The IEA statement went to advise;

> Commercial services exports from Ireland have proved more resilient in the crises than manufactured goods over the past year, with exports of services from Ireland expected to reach €68.4 billion in 2009, down only 1% on the prior, whereas global services exports fell by 19% in the first quarter of 2009, with some recovery indicated in later quarters.

> The EU is the largest importer of Commercial services globally with some €620 billion of commercial services imported in 2008.The further opening up of the market through the Services Directive will offer major opportunities to Irish based services companies.

>Currently Irish services exports into the EU stands at €45 billion, but 96% of this is with the UK where the market has been very open to Irish services exporters. The benefit of the Directive will be to open up continental Europe to a wide range of trade related services exporters who already are trading well in the open UK market.

>Ireland is ranked by the WTO as the 11^th largest exporter of services, and the 8^th largest importer of services. As a member of the EU 27 , the Directive gives Ireland an unique advantage over many non – EU countries who are rapidly expanding their services export activity , such as China which is now the 5^th largest global services exporter ,and India who is the 9^th largest.

END

For further information, please contact John Whelan, Chief Executive, IEA

Mobile: 087 927 1243