Irish Exporters Association: economy suffering due to low export figures
The Irish Exporters Association said the economy is missing out on thousands of new jobs because of poor export figures.
The value of Irish exports fell by €1.7bn in the first half of the year - because of the weak EU economy and pharmaceuticals coming off patent.
The IEA said the EU Commission needs to do more to promote exports and stimulate job creation.
The association's Chief Executive John Whelan said a stronger export sector is crucial to create jobs.
"2013 where we were expecting a sizeable amount of growth on the export front and we are not going to see that," he said.
"So instead of having about a 3% to 5% growth, which would also pull through a lot of new employment, we are looking a contraction in total exports of around 2%".
