merrion street

Taoiseach Enda Kenny addressed the Brehon Law Society in Phildaelphia this morning.

Speaking of the close ties between Ireland and the U.S., the Taoiseach said:

As the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone, Ireland has long been attractive for US firms seeking access to markets and new platforms for their products.

Ireland is the gateway to an EU market of 500 million consumers. Europe – and Ireland in particular – is proving an excellent platform for exporting onwards into the broader region including North Africa and the Middle East.

But as in all healthy relationships America and Ireland are not co-dependent – we’re interdependent.

The transatlantic trading and investment relationship is healthily balanced to our mutual benefit.

Right now, US firms in Ireland employ 100,000 people and benefit from our expertise in particularly strong clusters such as the life sciences and pharmaceuticals, clean technology and financial services.

Increasingly Ireland is the top choice for global companies, many of them American.