merrion street

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for your kind invitation.

Micheal Keaveney and Steve Aiken. You have done a magnificent job in establishing and expanding both the Chamber itself and its impact on both sides of the Irish Sea.

The British Irish Chamber of Commerce has been and continues to be an integral part of building the close relations that exist between Britain and Ireland today.

Of course the Chamber had a wonderful genesis, the historic royal visit in 2011 that brought such hope and healing across the centuries.

You have been busy since, growing the membership, representing members’ interests, providing a first-class networking environment for the British and Irish business community.

Today is something of a flying visit and it’s a pity I won’t be able to chat to as many of you as I did at your gala dinner in Dublin last Autumn.

I have just been at the Mansion House, where I spoke about the task of Irish Economic Recovery and Harnessing growth.

Joint Statement

A year ago, Prime Minister Cameron and I agreed a joint-statement on the future of British-Irish relations for the decade to come.

That was an all-encompassing statement.

It set out our commitment to work together, as partners, in a range of international fora,including within the European Union in order to meet the challenges facing us be they national or global.

We have been engaged on that agenda ever since and today we will take stock of progress and will look at what more we can do together.

At the heart of the joint statement was a recognition of the importance of the economic relationship between Britain and Ireland, and our shared determination to deepening and growing that relationship.

Ireland is a trading nation. Trade is our life’s blood and Britain is our largest trading partner.

Ireland is a very significant market for British exporters too, as all of you know only too well.

The Chamber is, I know, working to foster linkages in both directions.

For our part, Britain is our biggest market for key sectors such as food and beverages, and of course for tourism.

Another way of looking at the scale and importance of the British market is that a tiny loss of exports to Britain - between a half and one percent - would immediately wipe out the hard-won increase in our exports to the developing BRICS markets.

As my government prioritises the jobs-and-growth agenda, we look to the British market as a place where Irish business can continue to contribute to our national recovery.

This level of trade and investment underpins a unique and special relationship.

Two developments have cemented this unique relationship and brought it to a new level.

We have moved beyond talking only about ways to increase trade and investment flows between our two nations.

We are now talking about British and Irish companies working together to exploit business potential wherever opportunities arise.

Following the joint statement, the two governments commissioned an independent study of the economic relationship. I will be discussing progress on this – and on commitments in the joint statement more broadly – when I meet with the Prime Minister later today.

Your experience at the coalface of the economic relationship is a very important element in building the evidence-base for our future, policy decisions.

The Joint Statement noted the importance for both our countries, of access to secure, competitive and sustainable sources of energy.

The East-West electricity interconnector, commissioned last year, opened the way for trade in electricity.

I was very pleased to note that it was at your first annual conference in Dublin earlier this year that Minister Rabbitte and Secretary of State Davey signed the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the energy sector.

This is an important step forward in moving towards a formal energy trading agreement and represents a tangible achievement in meeting the commitments set out in the declaration.

After I leave you today, I will speak at the London School of Economics about the EU Presidency and economic developments.

I will of course also be briefing Prime Minister Cameron on my Government’s progress in our Strategy for Economic Recovery.

It has been a tough few years for all of us.

But it has been especially challenging for the Irish people.

Over the last two years, this Government has been working with the Irish people to implement our agreed plan for economic recovery.

I do believe that Ireland is now heading in the right direction.

Our plan is working.

We have restored stability in the face of an exceptionally-deep banking crisis.

In fact, the economy has not just stabilised, it has grown, over the last twelve months despite the very challenging business environment.

We have also made significant progress in tackling our debt level.

Ireland has successfully completed the process whereby we are replacing short-term, emergency Central Bank lending secured against Promissory Notes with longer-term, more affordable financing.

This was a major step as we have reduced the burden on the Irish taxpayer and injected further stability into the Irish economy.

We are implementing a challenging budgetary adjustment of about 20% of GDP over the period 2008 to 2015, with most of this already achieved.

This new level of stability in our economy is allowing us to focus on the main challenge of getting Ireland working again, through export-led recovery.

We are keenly committed to aggressively driving export growth.

The level of exports is now well above that of the pre-crisis period, having increased by 3.2% over the first three quarters of 2012 to stand at 106% of GDP.

The services-sector is playing an increasingly-significant role in export growth, having expanded by 9.4% over the first three quarters of 2012.

That strong, export performance means, that Ireland’s balance of payments with the rest of the world is set to record a surplus for the third year in a row for 2012.

The prospects for the global economy are uncertain and challenging but Ireland’s exceptional export performance of recent years underlines the resilience, competitiveness and determination that characterise our export companies.

The government for its part is determined to maintain lively, responsive regimes that are pro-business and pro-enterprise

Ireland’s competitiveness compared to our trading partners in Europe has improved by over a fifth since 2009.

Independent studies rank us as the second-most- attractive country globally for FDI

We’re first in the eurozone for ease of doing business;

We’re first for the availability of skilled labour; and

We’re in the top 10 in the EU for R&D spend.

These competitiveness changes have seen the Irish economy return to growth for the past two years, with further growth forecast for 2013.

The Government will protect these competitiveness gains with all alacrity.

We are on a journey from crisis, through economic recovery, to a new and sustainable period of growth.

We have restored our reputation internationally.

We have reduced the yield on Irish Government debt.

We have made huge strides in restructuring the banking system.

We have reduced the budget deficit.

We have achieved an important success with the promissory note deal, and placing our debt within a more manageable framework.

The economy is growing. Our exports are at record levels. Our balance of payments is in surplus.

I’m absolutely certain that together we can build on the progress we have made.

The potential mutual benefits of building on the unique and special relationship between Britain and Ireland are enormous.

The work you do in that context is crucial and it is valued.

You are the sectoral experts, the innovators.

The companies you represent are, and will continue to be, the key drivers of a new and sustainable prosperity on both islands.

We are partners on a journey, a mission of recovery.

My government is committed to working with you to realise the potential of an enhanced British-Irish relationship.

Let’s keep our focus on doing business, generating growth and creating those jobs our people need, demand and deserve.

Thank you