Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for being here this afternoon.
12 months ago, when this Government came into office, the country was on the edge of a cliff.
The banks were broken
The public finances were broken
Our reputation abroad was in tatters
And the Spirit of the people was all but broken.
We had suffered the humiliation of having to apply for assistance from the EU and the IMF, and we were straddled with a very restrictive programme
Today, as we stand before you, it is still windy, but we are no longer on the edge of the cliff. We have pulled the country back. We have stabilised the situation –
politically,
financially,
economically
and diplomatically.
And we now have a platform on which we can build.
The economy is back growing again
The banks are being re-structured and know the direction of travel
As today’s figures show, unemployment is stabilising and we are once more seeing jobs and investment coming back in; and
The EU/IMF deal has been substantially re-negotiated.
Our diplomatic campaign has been successful in transforming Ireland’s reputation abroad
Nobody recognises more than the Taoiseach and I, how much more we have to do. Today, the stability that has been achieved is important to families, but stability is not enough. We still have a long way to go to have the kind of impact on people’s lives that we aspire to, and that they deserve.
What has been achieved has not been easy. It has required us to make difficult decisions – decisions that neither of us would ever have wanted to make. But those difficulties are nothing compared to what the Irish people are going through. If we have achieved stability, it is their hard work and sacrifice that has been the key to success.
Our focus for the past twelve months has been on stability. Our focus for the next twelve months is on recovery. On securing and creating jobs, on making people more secure in their homes, on getting investment back into the country.
There have been difficulties, and there have been frustrations – things we wanted to achieve but couldn’t. Issues where progress has been frustratingly slow. If I had to point to one in particular, I would say that dealing with the issue of distressed mortgages has proven far more complex and involved that we anticipated, and progress has been frustratingly slow. Today we have a plan in place and the task now is to drive ahead with implementing it.
I want to acknowledge in particular the determination and skill of our colleagues Brendan Howlin and Michael Noonan. Through the Economic Management Council, the Taoiseach and I have worked closely with them in the strategic management of the crisis. They were the lead negotiators with the Troika in re-negotiating the programme and they have demonstrated great skill and determination in doing so. I want to thank our fellow Ministers who have , as you can see, already implemented so much of the programme for Government.
For some months now, as we have worked to further improve our reputation and to attract investment, it has become increasingly clear that the crisis in the Euro zone has been holding us back. Many investors have said to us, that, yes, we understand what Ireland is doing, but the wider European situation is too uncertain. Ireland has a part to play in fixing that problem, by signing up to the Stability Treaty. We are both committed to campaigning for a Yes vote in the referendum, and to put in place that further building block for recover.
These are difficult times, and we have had to make difficult decisions. But we have done so for a purpose. Yes, we are in a difficult place. No, there is no magic wand that will make it all better overnight. What there is, is hard work, day in day out, working our way through our problems. But our objective is clear – getting our country moving again, achieving economic recovery, and making Ireland a fair and better country for our children.
Thank You.