Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for coming today.
The Investment Stimulus package that Brendan Howlin is announcing today is another important component in our Strategy for Economic Recovery.
As I have said before, there is no one policy or decision that will get our economy moving again. To build recovery, we have to progress our way through a series of steps and stages, that will take us from crisis to a new and sustainable prosperity.
Firstly, we have to restore financial stability, in the public finances and in the banking system.
Second we have to build an export-led recovery.
Thirdly, we have to restore confidence and activity in the domestic economy, to create jobs and improve living standards.
So far, we have made important progress on the first two stages. But we still have a lot more work to do, particularly in restoring the domestic economy, where there is still a high level of saving, and consumer confidence remains low.
As you know, it is in the domestic economy that we can hope to create the number of jobs that we need to make real inroads into the unemployment problem. Restoring domestic confidence, which will boost both investment and consumption, will create jobs and will in turn make it easier for us to meet our fiscal targets.
It has always been my view that we can only fully deal with the banking crisis and the deficit crisis, if we also deal with the jobs crisis. Every person we get back to work saves the state at least €20,000 in tax paid, and lower social welfare costs.
In the past few months, the Government has been making important progress on a set of measures intended to re-boot the domestic economy.
We brought forward measures in the budget to assist in normalising the property market. We are making progress on the mortgage arrears agenda, which will deal with one of our biggest drags on growth – mortgage debt.
Minister Noonan has already announced that NAMA will be spending some €2 billion Euro on what is effectively a stimulus to the construction sector.
Minister Bruton, and the Strategic Investment Fund, have been bringing forward measures to provide finance for small business, including an investment of €100m by Silicon Valley Bank.
And today, Brendan Howlin is announcing a significant investment package which is designed to boost employment across the country, particularly in the construction sector.
I want to pay tribute to Brendan for the work he has done in negotiating this package with the Troika. Over a period of several months, he has painstakingly negotiated a series of decisions, which have led to this announcement. In particular, by achieving an increase in the share of the proceeds from state asset disposals that can be re-invested in the economy, and by working on new methodologies with the European investment bank, he has got us to the point where we can now announce an important package of investments. I think it is a real tribute to Brendan’s persistence and skill that we are making this announcement today. I also want to thank Michael Noonan, for the role that he has played in getting us to this point.
The aim of this package is to boost activity in the domestic economy, while also improving Ireland’s infrastructure. The projects that we are financing will deliver an important boost to communities across the country, as a visible sign of recovery.
In the sixteen months since we came to office, we have made important progress on a number of fronts.
We have restored our reputation as a country,
reduced the yield on Irish Government debt,
made huge strides in restructuring the banking system,
reduced the budget deficit,
made progress on a bank debt deal
and we working towards solutions for the mortgage arrears problem.
But our number one objective remains job creation. That remains our key objective.
We know that we still have much work to do, but today is another important step on the road.
Thank You.