Introduction
I am pleased to open the 2013 MacGill Summer School, an event which has grown from strength to strength in recent years.
Your theme this year – How Stands the Republic– is a timely one.
In a few short months, Ireland will be the first Eurozone country to successfully emerge from a bailout programme. That will be an important moment for our country for many reasons, not least because to be a real republic, Ireland must be a sovereign republic.
Now is a good time to reflect on the sometimes painful steps we have already taken to retrieve our economic sovereignty, the challenges that remain; and the changes we need to make to ensure that our country will never be in this position again.
On my election as Taoiseach I set out my vision of this Republic.
That by the centenary of the 1916 Rising we can prove to world that we can be the best small country in the world in which to do business, to raise a family and to grow old with dignity and respect.
This Government has been working hard to achieve these aims. There is no greater objective for us than to succeed in recreating our Republic for the benefit of all Irish citizens today.
EU Presidency
The backdrop to our work in the first half of 2013 has been the EU Presidency.
Ireland’s Seventh Presidency began on the 40th anniversary of our joining what was then the European Economic Community.
We took our key national priorities – Stability, Growth and Jobs – and put them at the heart of the European agenda.
Though we are a small country, we had a big role in shaping policies that will help to lift our economy, both at home and throughout Europe.
We helped create a new €6 billion fund to tackle Youth Unemployment.
We secured major reforms of Europe’s Agriculture and Fisheries policies – both of which will benefit the Irish economy.
We made major progress on banking union and struck a deal to curb bankers’ bonuses.
We also launched the negotiations on a trade deal between Europe and the United States – a deal which, when completed, can boost job creation on both sides of the Atlantic.
The progress we achieved during our Presidency on these and many other issues not only further strengthen Ireland’s place in Europe, but have also helped to point Europe in the right direction.
I have long argued that if Europe is to recover, its leaders must prove that they are serious about implementing the decisions they have made.
Implementation has been the hallmark of Ireland’s Presidency.
Despite the very onerous agenda presented by the EU Presidency, the Government did not lose focus on the primary objectives of fixing our public finances and getting Ireland working again.
Economic Achievements
Here at home, the pace and scale of activity has been unprecedented.
In the past 6 months alone we have addressed a range of issues that previous Governments spententire terms pondering how to avoid.
When we took office, we inherited an economy in freefall. The public finances were out of control; the banks were on the brink of collapse; employment was collapsing and the country’s image abroad was in taters.
Our immediate priorities on taking office were to bring our public finances under control, to stabilise the banking system, and to rebuild Ireland’s international reputation.
We are now building on these foundationstowards achieving our primary goal of creating jobs.
This is as important in Donegal as any other part of the country as this county has been particularly badly hit by unemployment and emigration during the economic crisis.
On the jobs front we have seen some progress in the past 6 months.
Unemployment
While we still have far too many people out of work, there has been a welcome stabilisation in the numbers of people at work.
In the period before this Government took office, 7,000 jobs wer being lost every month but nowthe private sector is creating 2,000 new jobs a month.
The numbers unemployed have dropped below 300,000 for the first time since the start of 2010.
The Government has been relentlessly implementing its Action Plan for Jobs to ensure that we improve on this.
For example, earlier this month we launched a new scheme, JobsPlus, which provides a financial incentive for employers to hire long term unemployed directly off the dole to ensure economic recovery does not bypass jobseekers.
Promissory Notes
On coming into office, the Government set out toend the punitive Anglo Irish Bank promissory note arrangement that was signed up to by Fianna Fail.
We have negotiated the replacement of the IBRC Promissory Notes with more sustainable, longer term debt.
That means there will be no more annualpromissory note repayments.
The reduction in the State’s cash borrowing requirement over the next 10 years by €20 billion has substantially improved the State’s debt position.
This deal has enabled the Government to take a big step towards successfully exiting our bailout by returning to the long term bond markets at affordable rates.
These developments will ultimately increase confidence in Ireland which is essential if we are to make progress on our top priority: getting Ireland working again.
As a prerequisite for jobs and investment we continued the prudent and necessary correction in our national finances.
Haddington Road Agreement
I know that many public servants were keen to play their part in Ireland’s recovery and the acceptance of the Haddington Road Agreement represented a significant milestone for us all.
It sent out the message that Ireland was dealing with its problems and that public servants across the country were on board for the huge programme of reform being implemented.
The increased payroll savings it will deliver will help protect essential frontline services.
Along with these savings - €1 billion by 2015 – the agreement will also deliver unprecedented changes in the way public services are organized and delivered.
Social achievements – Magdalene, ABC Case
At a time when focus must be so firmly placed on economic recovery and job creation, it is important that other government commitments to our citizens are not forgotten.
The government committed to addressing long overdue injustices and uncertainty that would not only reform old practices but remove theambiguity that lingered in so many Irish citizens lives, particularly as it has emerged, Irish women’s lives.
Within a few months of entering government, we asked Senator McAleese to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries.
The appalling legacy of these Laundries, which had been swept under the carpet by previous governments, was revealed in February.
I was determined that the survivors would get the recognition they deserved.
Meeting the Magdalene women was a genuinely humbling time for me their courage, strength, tenacity and their hurt, heartache and pain.
I am happy this Government could provide closure through a State apology, a redress scheme and most importantly, recognition of a wrong done.
In recent days, Minister Reilly has sought to right another wrong done to Irish women who had unnecessary invasive surgeries that negatively impacted their lives but have spent decades seeking recognition.
It is our wish to bring closure to the women excluded from the Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme on age grounds alone, and Minister Reilly will shortly meet with the women affected by symphysiotomy who too have suffered for years wholly unnecessarily.
ABC
At the beginning of 2013 we also began the process of addressing another issue that has been ignored by previous governments – legislation to provide legal clarity as to the interventions that are permissible in the rare situations where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of a woman during a pregnancy.
In view of the sensitivity and complexity of this issue, we ensured comprehensive debate and expert opinion through two sets of Oireachtas Committee hearings following by extensive debate in both Houses.
The resultant legislation clarifies and regulates existing constitutional rights and does not create any new rights.
In my view, it strikes the correct balance by creating a rigorous process for assessing whether the termination of a pregnancy is the only treatment which will avert a real and substantial risk to a woman’s life; while reiterating the obligation on medical
professionals to preserve the life of the unborn where practicable.
The bill also contains many safeguards to prevent its provisions being abused in the future.
I am confident that the enactment of this legislation will provide the clarity needed to protect the lives of both women and their unborn children.
Priorities for the rest of 2013
Budget
As we move in to the second half of the year, the first major item on our agenda will be the Budget which, in a new departure, will be announced in the middle of October.
This Budget will be driven by two key objectives : 1) to continue the necessary correction in our public finances and 2) to continue to invest in and incentivise work and employment.
I appreciate that the measures that we have taken to close the gap between revenue and public spending have been very difficult and painful for many people and families.
But we are still adding €1 billion per month onto the national debt to pay for public service salaries, social welfare and other services - this is not sustainable.
This Budget is an opportunity to take those last big steps required to get our national finances under control.
Hitting our agreed Budget targets is an absolutenecessity if we are to successfully exit our bailout by the end of the year.
Failure to follow through on all the hard work and sacrifices of the Irish people now, so close to the bailout exit, jeopardises everything we have all worked for.
We cannot allow this to happen.
The people of Ireland would not forgive us for faltering at the last fence.
90% of the fiscal consolidation is now completeI want to finish the job, and finish it as quickly as possible so families everywhere can begin to plan for the future with confidence.
Any short-term relief from backing off from our deficit reduction plans would be far outweighed by the impact on jobs and growth, and on interest rates, caused by the loss of confidence and capital flight that would arise should Ireland stray from the path agreed.
Every Minister will have difficult decisions to make to deliver on the savings they have promised.
The public have entrusted us with the national finances and expect us to do our duty no matter how difficult it may be.
The best way to support our local economies is through the creation of jobs.
Any flexibility we have in the budgetary arithmetic should be used for more investment in job creation.
More investment in schools, primary care,economic infrastructure, transport and tourismprojects is what will help get people back to work.
Job Creation
As the Government deficit falls, reducing unemployment, especially long term unemployment, will be the Government's top priority in the second half of this Government's lifetime.
We cannot allow economic recovery to bypass the tens of thousands of families that saw their lives turned upside down by the economic collapse.
For these reasons the Government will be putting a special focus on implementing its Pathways to Work strategy to completely transform how we support and interact with jobseekers.
Long term unemployment perpetuates a cycle of poverty, inactivity and hopelessness. We need to break that cycle.
Unfortunately, long term unemployment has been a long term problem for Ireland with anabove average level of jobless households when compared to our European neighbours.
The failure of successive Governments to make the deep reforms necessary to our welfare and employment services has condemned far too many families to hide in society’s shadow, cast adrift in long term unemployment.
In response our ‘Pathways to Work’ strategies lay out an entirely new vision for our welfare and employment services.
Instead of being cast adrift by the State, unemployed people now face compulsory engagement and support services through the roll out of new one stop shop Intreo offices nationwide.
The speedy implementation of this urgent reform agenda will be key if we are to have the right tools to break the cycle of long term unemployment and welfare dependency.
Banking
The banking sector also needs to step up to its responsibilities to the Irish economy by meeting the needs of businesses and homeowners alike.
I expect the covered banks to deliver on the agreed lending targets for this year, and to further expand lending next year as the economic recovery accelerates.
A particular priority must be to help viable businesses struggling with legacy debts to grow and invest their way back to financial health.
I also expect the banks to deliver on their targets for putting the 95,000 distressed mortgage borrowers back onto a sustainable footing. Our recovery requires the full participation in our economy of families burdened by excess mortgages.
Having withdrawn the bank guarantee earlier this year, I want to begin the process of further reducing the State's ownership of the banks over the remainder of our term in office.
Reform
As I said at the outset, along with cleaning up the economic mess we inherited, we must also drive on with reforms needed to prevent the mistakes of the past being repeated.
In our Programme for Government, we committed to radically overhauling the way Irish politics and Government work.
The failures of the political system over the past decade were a key contributor to the financial crisis and the system must now learn those lessons urgently.
This Government's proposals to modernise the political system with major reform of the Dáil and abolition of the Seanad the most radical transformation of Local Government in a hundred years and the establishment of a Constitutional Convention to review the country's supreme law represent the biggest package of political reform since the passing of the Constitution in 1937.
We have cut the number of TDs and increased the number of Dáil sitting days.
We have reduced the pay and allowances of all politicians.
We have halved the cost of Ministerial transport.
We are already radically streamlining local government which will reduce the number of local authorities from 114 to 31, and the number of councillors from 1600 to 950.
But we still have too many politicians in Ireland.
I make no apology for seeking to cut the cost of politics in Ireland. As a public representative Party leader and Taoiseach if we are asking the citizens of this country to make sacrifices should we not doing the same ourselves?
We must create a political system that is fit for the 21st century . One that is more accountable, More democratic and more responsive.
The proposed abolition of the Seanad is part of this Government's comprehensive programme of political reform which will also see major changes in the way the Dáil does its work, including the holding of parliamentary enquiries.
The Irish Constitution declares the people are sovereign. What could be more appropriate than asking the people to decide on the future of the Seanad following 75 years of inaction by the political establishment?
Fianna Fail supported the abolition of the Seanad during the last election when they thought it was in their narrow party interest, now they oppose abolition for their own party interest.
Let me also tell you of a more recent inaction.
In May 2009, it was recommended to the last government that the Constitution be amended to provide for a Court of Appeal that would deal with both Civil and Criminal appeals.
This was to address the growing backlog of Supreme Court cases, that have an average delay for new non-priority cases is now of the order of 4 years.
This government is addressing this problem by putting forward a referendum on 4 October on the creation of a new Court of Civil Appeal to reduce the backlog and allow the Supreme Court focus on the development of law.
An efficient and effective courts system that results in the final determination of cases in a reasonable timeframe is something required by the European Convention on Human Rights and is an important consideration for businesses considering investing in Ireland.
Conclusion
As I said at the outset, the remainder of 2013 will be pivotal to the development of our Republic.
Crucial economic and constitutional decisions will be faced. These will determine if we will retrieve our economic sovereignty and continue the reforms needed to prevent a repeat of the mistakes that led to its loss.
That, as we approach the end of 2013, we will emerge
successfully from the shadow of our international bailout and once again stand confidently among the nations of the world.
That we will strive on from here and work even harder so that we will become the best small country in the world for business, to raise a family and to grow old with dignity and respect.
This will be the Republic of 2016.