Good morning everyone;
A special thanks to Geraldine, Tom, Dimitris and Richard from the Affidea Group for this invitation to be here today.
It is a good day for the medical sector in Ireland with the announcement of 100 new jobs across Ireland as Euromedic officially becomes Affidea.
I understand that the new jobs will be spread across locations such as Donegal, Athlone, Limerick, Sligo and Tallaght.
Patients will also take great interest in the commitment given by Affidea today that it will provide Gamma Knife treatment to patients on the island of Ireland for the first time. I understand that this state-of-the-art service is used for the treatment of head and neck cancers, AVM repair and some cases of Parkinson’s and epilepsy.
This is welcome news indeed, and I would like to thank Affidea for their continued confidence in Ireland.
Budget 2016
For our part in Government we are continuing the work to make Ireland more attractive to investment and jobs such as the ones being announced by Affidea today.
Last month we published our Budget for 2016. It is another step in our plan to keep the recovery going.
To make work pay and to improve the attractiveness of Ireland as a location of work and enterprise we are tackling the high marginal tax rates on middle income earners.
We have started this process in the recent Budgets and all workers will benefit further from January and in the years ahead.
In addition to supporting Irish business, we have also continued the strategy of attracting more foreign investment and jobs.
To encourage new research and innovation in Ireland we are launching a new best in class ‘Knowledge Development Box’ next year that will halve the rate of corporation tax on qualifying innovative products and services developed in Ireland.
This coupled with our competitive Corporation Tax Rate regime, our R&D Tax Credit regime, our supports for International property management together with our investments in research and talent, should ensure that Ireland is among the leading innovation hubs for the future.
We want to ensure that Ireland is the location of choice for high-profile companies in every sector, including the health services sector.
More than 1,000 overseas companies have chosen Ireland as their strategic base in Europe: 9 of the 10 global software companies; 9 of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies; 13 of the world’s top 15 Medical Technology companies; and all 10 of the largest online companies in the world operate from Ireland.
There are many reasons why these companies have chosen to locate themselves in Ireland; we have a skilled workforce and high levels of education, a competitive and transparent tax regime, policy stability and predictability, and a business-friendly environment.
Plan for Economic Recovery
Looking to the future we have a plan with three priorities to keep the recovery going:
· To make work pay and to remove the barriers to work;
· To support more job creation and regional economic growth; and
· To rebuild a strong economy that can support better public services.
Our first priority is to continue to make work pay.
It is clear that the existing level of tax on work and jobs remains a drag on our recovery.
Marginal tax rates on middle income earners in Ireland are much higher than the UK and other countries where many of our people have emigrated to, and for where we are in competition with for mobile talent and investment.
While we have started the process of reducing the tax burden on work and jobs for low and middle income earners and we will continue with that strategy for the years ahead.
Our plan is to replace all the jobs lost in the recession by 2018 and to achieve full employment by 2020.
To reach these targets we are helping low income families return to and stay in work. With the benefits of recovery we are introducing the first steps in new plans to provide childcare, early education and free general healthcare for children of working families.
Our plan of tax cuts and enterprise supports will help rebuild a strong, sustainable economy.
Reducing the high tax burden on low and middle income families helps to create jobs, put Ireland back to work, and generates the revenue needed to support vital public services.
Our plan is to deliver a virtuous circle of tax cuts on work, more jobs, and improving public finances and services.
As the economy recovers we are now investing more in vital public services.
We are now in a position to recruit more front line staff like nurses, teachers and police while continuing the reforms to reduce back office staff.
At the same time, our position as the fastest growing economy in Europe while maintaining a responsible approach to the national finances will mean that we can eliminate our public deficit altogether by 2018 and truly secure the recovery for the people of Ireland.
But for today, this announcement of 100 new jobs is another big step on our path to recovery.
I look forward to watching your operations here in Ireland grow into a very significant force, and I wish you all every success over the coming years.
Thank you.