Introduction
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be here today.
I would like to thank the CEO of the Irish Internet Association Joan Mulvihill for her kind invitation and Paul Hayes for his introduction.
It is great to see that the theme of today’s conference is ‘Building BRICs.’
As you know the Government has put a special emphasis on building up our relationship with these emerging and developed economies.
As part of our ongoing mission to restore and rebuild Ireland’s international reputation we have identified a number of areas in our Programme for Government that we are hoping to make inroads with the BRIC countries.
In this regard, it is encouraging to see the Irish tech industry is facilitating the development of technology that can be used to access growth markets.
BRICS and exports
This Government has a commitment and a responsibility to get Ireland working again. Attracting new jobs and investment is the top priority of Government.
We are focussing on particular markets and specific sectors, including the ICT and digital sector.
In terms of markets, we are focussing on growing existing key markets such as the EU and US but also on developing high-growth and high-potential markets, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The Export Trade Council, chaired by the Tánaiste & Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, is giving impetus to this work, and along with the State agencies have developed specific coordinated market plans for each of the BRICs.
Enterprise Ireland has established a dedicated High Growth Markets Unit in Dublin to further drive the exporting activities of Irish-owned companies.
And this year, there will be Ministerial-led Irish trade missions to each of the BRIC countries.
Visit to China
As many of you know, I recently paid a very successful visit to China.
This followed the visit to Ireland by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in February, which received widespread and positive media coverage in China.
My key message during both visits was that Ireland is a source of world class products and services and offers significant potential for Chinese investment.
I highlighted Ireland’s potential as a gateway to the European market of over five hundred million people.
I saw this potential bear fruit when I witnessed the signing of more than €35m worth of contracts and commitments during my visit.
I also concluded a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Chinese Government which provides a framework to ensure cooperation between Ireland and China in a number of important trade and investment areas.
My priority now is to ensure that we maximise the opportunities for greater trade and investment in the months and years ahead, not just with China, but with other emerging economies.
EU Stability Treaty
All this work has helped to restore the international standing of Ireland.
We are now seen as a country that is on the right track and serious about tackling our problems.
This has led to increased international confidence in Ireland as a place in which to invest and in which to do business.
Throughout my recent visits to the United States, China and elsewhere, the consistent message from both political and business leaders is that they see certainty about Ireland’s place as a member of the Eurozone as a crucial element of Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for investment.
In recent months alone, numerous multinational companies have shown their confidence in Ireland by committing to new investments here that will create thousands of new jobs.
Recently, I have visited tech companies like Apple in Cork; Cisco in Galway; Mylan in Dublin and SAP in CityWest, all of whom have made major jobs announcements.
Growth Agenda in Europe
We must put a real focus on the potential of the single European market for the creation of jobs for our people.
There are areas where Europe can make a real difference to promote rapid growth in rapidly expanding industries.
Take the digital economy for example.
Last year Ireland submitted a paper to the European Council on the digital single market which focused on a number of different areas to promote innovation and growth.
While the Commission has recently produced new draft regulations on areas such as data protection, we need the Council and Parliament to fast track discussions and reforms.
We need to be proactive in ensuring that European laws and regulations on sensitive issues such as data protection and copyright are adequate to take advantage of the vast potential of the growing digital economy.
This will benefit all of Europe, but it would be especially advantageous for Ireland if there was a more dynamic and competitive business environment for the digital industries considering our form in the area.
I am pleased to say that, following pressure from several heads of government, including myself, growth and jobs have now become central to the agenda of the European Council.
This approach has been taken on board and now European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called a summit of EU leaders for May 23rd in Brussels to discuss growth.
EU & Digital sector
This is not to say that we have not been busy at home to develop our own digital industry.
The growing presence here of the world’s leading ICT companies confirms Ireland’s position as a leading location in Europe for the digital sector.
In our Action Plan for Jobs 2012 we have committed to a number of actions to drive growth in the ICT sector.
Improving ICT infrastructure is a key priority.
Just last week Minister Rabbitte published the Report of the Next Generation Broadband Taskforce (comprising CEOs of the leading telecoms providers in Ireland).
The Report highlights areas where Government and industry can work together to make an impact.
A four week consultation period with users and other stakeholders will run through May.
Following this the Minister will publish a National Broadband Plan for Ireland setting out the actions that Government will take to ensure the delivery of high quality broadband to all parts of Ireland.
We are also committed to further enhancing our skills supply pipeline for ICT and high-tech sectors including through implementation of the Action Plan on ICT Skills.
New Challenges in the Digital Sector
Given the globalised nature of the digital industry Ireland wants to continue to lead the debate on how to develop a more dynamic digital enterprise sector across Europe.
The aim is to develop a dynamic, flexible environment that encourages digital innovation.
As I mentioned the two main challenges in this area are copyright protection and data protection & privacy issues.
It is important that Government, and the EU, develop policies that represent a balanced approach to the rights of the individual, copyright holders and entrepreneurs.
Here at home, the Copyright Review Committee recently published a wide-ranging Consultation Paper and has invited further submissions from interested parties.
These submissions will be evaluated and a Report for Government prepared setting out recommendations for legislative change, including change at EU level if required.
I would like to encourage all interested parties to engage fully in the consultation process.
In this regard, I would like to express my gratitude to the Irish Internet Association for providing an online mechanism to collate its members’ views and to gather the views of others on the Consultation Paper.
Also, as I mentioned the European Commission has recently published proposals for a new comprehensive Data Protection framework at European Union level.
Minister Shatter launched a consultation process at the beginning of March on these proposals seeking the views and inputs of interested bodies and individuals and the response has been positive and helpful.
These issues are likely to be concluded during the Irish Presidency next year.
Conclusion
Over the last number of weeks we have seen a number of high profile investments in Ireland which are bringing new opportunities and new jobs.
The Government is determined to keep this momentum going, to turn the tide for Ireland and to secure the long term future of Ireland’s economic fortunes.
In order to secure this future, we must continue to send a message to the whole world that Ireland is open for business and that we have put the worst of our economic difficulties behind us.
Today’s event is a wonderful occasion to
focus on the positive, on the opportunities that are out there for enterprise and for Ireland.
I wish you well with today’s deliberations and look forward to engaging with the IIA on the development of the digital industry into the future.