Funded by the Irish government in Dublin and the by local business community, the Irish Export Board has launched a new initiative to drum up orders for Irish companies in the areas of computing, electronics and engineering. The Source Ireland programme arises from a survey the Board carried out in the UK, West Germany and the US, which revealed that people in these countries have very low perceptions about procuring high-technology equipment and services in Ireland in these areas. Source Ireland in its initial guise is directed towards buyers and decision makers in British industry, and comprises a package of services, which are free of charge, including consultancy, market information and research, design, product and company identification, negotiation and visits. Source Ireland is operating out of three UK offices, in London, Manchester and Glasgow, with 23 employees, and has 120 staff on the other side of the Irish Sea. Looking forward to 1992 and the single European market, similar programmes are to be launched in West Germany and France over the coming months. According to the Board, with all those US-owned factories, Ireland currently exports some UKP700m of electronic products annually to Britain, and 11% of all data processing equipment imported into the UK comes from Ireland. In 1988, Ireland’s exports were equivalent to 73% of the country’s Gross National Product, against 37% for West Germany, 21% for the UK and 13% for Japan.
