Good afternoon ladies and gentleman.
It is has been a year since I was last here at a time when the Irish people had just given my Government a strong mandate for strong action. We have not wasted that mandate or opportunity to put Ireland back on the right track.
While America is starting to see real signs of recovery so too is Ireland. Work to restore economic and political stability has delivered positive benefits for our country.
This morning I rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. I should have brought a bell with me everywhere else I go, because my mission is exactly the same – to tell the world loudly and clearly that now is the time to invest in Ireland’s recovery.
I am very glad to have this opportunity to tell you of the progress we have made in Ireland since the President gave us the honour of visiting our nation last May in a visit that reaffirmed the enduring and historic nature of our relationship.
The Irish Economy is growing again. Our public finances are under control.
This return to growth is export led with export levels at an all time high. This is due to improvements in competitiveness and to Ireland’s enduring attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment, under-pinned by our talented and friendly people, a transparent 12½% corporation tax rate and our place at the heart of Europe.
Over the past year there has been some talk about our corporate tax rate. I just want to reassure you that the rate is a major pillar of our enterprise policy and won’t be changed. A few weeks ago the World Bank and PWC released their 'Paying Taxes in 2012 report. It showed that Ireland remained the easiest country in Europe in which to pay business taxes for the 5th year running, and also is the 5th most user friendly for business taxes globally.
More significantly the report showed that Ireland’s effective rate of corporation tax was almost at the same level as the headline rate. This underscores the transparent and open approach we take with our corporation tax regime.
By taking responsible and determined action on our deficit we plan to return to the private markets and exit the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support on schedule.
But responsible budgeting is not enough to address all of our economic challenges. We have to encourage strong economic growth that will secure a sustainable future for us all. This is dependent on creating a positive and supportive business environment that promotes greater
international trade and more jobs.
Companies in Ireland benefit from one of the most pro-enterprise environments in the world – ranking first among euro countries in the World Bank’s 2012 Ease of Doing Business survey. At a time when political and public hostility to corporations is on the rise in many countries, Ireland is welcoming responsible investors with open arms. Companies in Ireland have seen a 20% improvement in unit labour costs since 2009 by comparison with other euro area countries.
As a result, exports are driving our recovery, returning our balance of international payments to a strong surplus for the first time in over a decade.
It is our openness to international business that will allow Ireland to trade its way out of this recession and debt crisis.
As a result we’re seeing businesses bet on Ireland every day – moving there, investing there, employing there, doing R&D there. Companies with global operations who are taking the decision that Ireland meets their business needs and their talent needs, like nowhere else.
In the last 12 months alone, we’ve seen US businesses like Paypal, Pepsi, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Coca Cola, Google, Dell, Eli Lilly, Hewlett Packard, Mastercard and others invest and expand their
operations and activities in Ireland.
We’ve seen new companies like Twitter come and set up in Ireland for the first time as their European headquarters, so that we have the top 10 ‘born on the internet’ companies with presences in Ireland. They’ve joined the world leaders in pharmaceuticals, ICT and financial services in that choice. One-third of Irish exports are now classified as "high tech", compared with an EU average of 17%.
500 US companies employ 100,000 Irish people in their operations. In return, Irish companies employ some 82,000 Americans across all 50 States.
These are not decisions based on sentimentality. This is business after business seeing the potential for growth and return in each other’s economies and each other’s workforces.
I recently asked an American CEO who was visiting her operation in Ireland what one winning attribute made her decide to expand their business in Ireland over other locations. What was that X factor which clinched it for their Irish operation? Her answer? Our people… and their passion.
Passion for work… passion for innovation… passion for perfection.
We have the talent. Here in this room, we have the combination of
people who are driving Ireland’s recovery. We have innovative Irish companies determined to expand in international markets, including the US.
International studies confirm that Ireland’s labour force is amongst the best educated in the world. The proportion of people aged between 30 and 34 who are university graduates is the highest in Europe. Ireland produces the third highest number of maths, science and computer graduates per thousand population aged 20-29 in the euro area. And that’s partly why international recruiters believe Ireland produces some of the most highly employable graduates in the world.
Also here in this room, we have our friends from our American diaspora. Members of the Global Irish Network and of Irish Network-USA, as well as the American Ireland Fund and the other organisations that make it their mission to make new connections between Ireland and the US to both our benefit.
Our diaspora - 40million American, 70million in total - whose ancestors spread across the globe to find new lives and new opportunities, are more than a strategic asset, they are part of who we are.
It is our task to ensure that this global family stays linked and engaged with us at home, and is an engine for new possibility, not disconnection. It is our task to ensure that members of our diaspora who want to contribute, are given the chance to.
That is the idea behind the Global Irish Economic Forum we held in Dublin last Autumn, at which former President Clinton joined hundreds of the most influential members of our global family to discuss Ireland’s path back to recovery. That led to an investment forum in New York last month where President Clinton told a large group of investors with no connection to Ireland that ‘they’d be nuts not to be in Ireland’. What can I say?
I cannot overstate the value we place on our economic relationship with the USA.
The United States remains our largest individual trading and investment partner. This economic bridge across the Atlantic will be central to our gathering economic recovery.
Ireland continues to promote the trading relationship between the United States and Europe as the most valuable and dynamic in the world. It is the engine of the world economy. But like any high
performance engine it needs constant care and attention to keep delivering results.
Breaking down the barriers to trade between the United States and the European Union can, and will, benefit both regions and offer new opportunities for business and jobs for our peoples. More trade between the US and Europe is a win – win for both of us.
That also includes working with the UK, Germany and our other EU partners to press for the removal of remaining industrial and services trade and investment restrictions between the EU and the USA.
We are determined to grow that Ireland-US relationship in new and creative ways. Included in initiatives is a fund for international-start up companies to come and begin their journey in Ireland.
It also includes a ‘Succeed in Ireland’ plan, which encourages members of our global diaspora in their efforts to encourage or facilitate new investments in Ireland, through a reward system based on new jobs
created.
Our trade relationship should also focus on the more traditional sectors which are thriving. Like our agrifood sector where Ireland is the 5th largest exporter of beef in the world. Like our Tourism sector where we hit the 1-million-in-1 year tourist mark from North America last year.
In 2013, we will have a year-long programme of events we’re calling ‘The Gathering’ to bring our global family home to their ancestral roots, but we’re certainly not telling people to wait until then.
The message I want to leave you here today is Ireland is the new land of opportunity for American business and investors.
We are throwing ourselves open for business. We want to be a global hub for substantial company activity and R&D, the best small country in the world in which to do business.
We want to be a launch-pad for technology companies, home-grown and international. We will remain at the heart of Europe and we will remain a key partner for the US and US businesses in the region. And we are embracing new opportunities in emerging markets.
John F Kennedy reportedly called himself ‘an idealist without illusions’. 50 years on from his Presidency, that seems like an apt phrase to describe the test for Ireland, for Europe and the US today. To be idealists without illusions.
I believe Ireland and Europe will endure this crisis and emerge stronger.
I believe that if we could together bring peace to Northern Ireland after centuries of conflict and loss, then we can accomplish more than we sometimes think.
I believe that the economic bridge between Ireland and the US will grow and benefit companies and workers on both sides of the Atlantic.
I believe America’s success is good for Ireland, and Ireland’s success is good for America.
I believe both our best days are ahead of us and I believe that our partnership will help us get to them here and in Ireland.
Thank you for being part of that, and thank you for joining me here today on this special extended St Patrick’s Day!