I am delighted to be here today at your summer business lunch.
Chambers of Commerce such as yours provide an invaluable service to your members and the community at large. You are at the coal face of enterprise and it is to you that that the Government will be looking to lead our economic recovery. We too will be doing our part.
I have just come from NUIG where I opened the new €40 million Enginnering building, an exciting new development on the Campus. Earlier, I was in Loughrey where C & F Tooling announced 145 new jobs. It has been a good morning to be in Galway.
The Government has launched its ambitious jobs initiative designed to get people back to work and help restore confidence back into the economy. It involved major decisions on lowering VAT rates for labour intensive sectors, the Jobbridge internship programme, cutting employers PRSI, a short-stay visa waiver programme, and investment in labour intensive capital projects such as schoolworks and roads around the country. We have also decided upon and are implementing wide spread political and public service reform.
More initiatives are on the way as we develop a Microfinance Fund and Partial Loan Guarantee Scheme for the micro enterprise sector to overcome market failure in this particular area of enterprise financing.
But as I said to business leaders in Washington, New York and London, Ireland is already a fantastic place to do business. While the World Bank currently ranks Ireland as the 9th best place in the world to do business, we will not rest until we’re number one. My aim is that by 2016, we will have positioned Ireland as the best small country in the world in which to do business.
Our rate of corporate tax remains sacrosanct. It will not be changed. It will not be conceded for any changes to international agreements. Corporation tax will remain a national competence. It is, and will continue to be, a corner stone of Irish industrial policy.
We have the youngest population in Europe and a flexible and talented labour force of over 1.8 million. That workforce includes a significant number of entrepreneurs. With over 400 members, for example, Ireland has more start-up companies in the Microsoft BizSpark program than any other country of its size.
We have made significant improvements in competitiveness and an estimated 14% improvement in Unit Labour Costs relative to the Euro area is expected by 2012. Indeed, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ireland is the second country in the world for labour productivity per hour. The United States, by the way, is third!
Our export performance was exceptional last year, with growth of 6%. This strong performance has continued in 2011 and Ireland has had 22 months of continuous export growth, the second best record in the EU. In fact, we had the second highest trade surplus in the European Union last year, after Germany.
Ireland is ranked by the World Bank among the top ten countries for ease of doing business and Ireland is where innovation comes naturally. We are number one in the world for research in molecular genetics and genomics and we are among the top twenty countries in global scientific rankings.
Galway with its strong base of indigenous industry across a wide range of sectors is at the forefront of this export boom. For example Creganna in Galway City is making inroads on the global stage. There is an 80% chance that a Creganne product will be used during heart surgery in hospitals around the world. Another innovative company in Galway is Crospon who earlier this year launched a new imaging catheter for weight loss surgery applications at a conference in San Antonio.
A return to export-led growth will lead Ireland’s economic recovery. Exports equals jobs and high quality, innovative and internationally competitive Irish companies are fundamental to Ireland’s future prosperity.
Other strong examples of indigenous Irish industry making their valuable contribution include C & F Tooling, Aerogen here in the city, JFC in Tuam, Chanelle Pharma in Loughrea, Western Automation in Ballinasloe, Green Isle in Portumna and Byrne Mech in Athenry. All of these innovative companies are market leaders in their global sectors.
A measure of the Innovation drive in Galway is the recognition of its importance in company growth. This is exemplified by the National JFC Innovation Awards for rural business sponsored by JFC from Tuam in association with the Irish Farmers Journal, Teagasc and the Local Development Network
All these companies are providing valuable employment opportunities to people in Galway and surrounding counties. Indigenous companies in particular play a hugely important role in regional development as they are found in villages and towns and not just large urban centres.
The employment generated by these companies, together with the employment generated among suppliers and service providers in the locality, shows just how important a strong base of indigenous companies is to counties like Galway.
Facing the toughest challenge in their history, our indigenous industry has shown great determination and resilience in seeking out new markets and customers.
Enterprise Ireland estimates that its client companies grew export sales in 2010, recovering in the region of 70% of the losses made in 2009. This is an impressive achievement given continued difficult market conditions. Even more encouraging is the fact that Enterprise Ireland client companies reported an expansion in new export orders each and every month in 2010 and this trend is set to continue.
Significant competitiveness improvements are underpinning this return to export led growth. Year on year, Irish companies are becoming more competitive and more innovative. Deep and ever increasing competition in global markets necessitates competitive improvements right across the value chain.
Government funding and supports facilitate these improvements and this in turn helps Irish companies to win new market share. Since the beginning 2009, Enterprise Ireland has approved over €20m to its client companies in the Galway.
Fostering entrepreneurship and facilitating the key infrastructural needs of Irish enterprise is vital to ensuring the continued flow into the Irish economy of strong start-ups with export potential. Examples of such companies in Co. Galway include Cappella Medical, Magnetti Foods & Snap2Travel.
In terms of infrastructure, the Enterprise Ireland funded Campus Incubation Centre’s at GMIT and NUIG provides both space and support and mentoring for knowledge intensive start-up companies. The objective is to build a highly attractive incubation environment for the best entrepreneurs from Ireland and overseas.
As well as infrastructure, potential entrepreneurs need guidance and encouragement when exploring a new business opportunity. The Midlands and West Enterprise Programme - a joint initiative between GMIT Athlone Institute of Technology and Enterprise Ireland provides such an opportunity and 12 budding entrepreneurs have currently enrolled on a new programme at GMIT.
An important source of knowledge, expertise and competitive advantage available to small companies can be found in the research departments of Institutes of Technology and Irish Universities. The Enterprise Ireland Innovation Vouchers scheme gives small companies access to this vast source of innovative acumen and in so doing acts as an important facet of knowledge transfer from the third level to industry. These vouchers worth €5,000 can be used by the average small Irish company to purchase advice and knowledge that is new to the company. In 2010, 57 Innovation Voucher partnerships were used by SME’s in Co. Galway.
In addition to the incubation facilities on the 3rd level campuses, Enterprise Ireland has approved funding for the development of Community owned/led Enterprise Centres in 7 locations in the County. These include Ballinasloe, Clonberne, Galway Technology Centre, Headford, Letterfrack, Tuam & Westside. These centres are also helping to provide much needed work space for the creation of new projects and businesses.
Galway with its proven tradition of enterprise and innovation will as usual be at the forefront of our recovery. We are in challenging times, but we have been there before and we have overcome them.
We all need to pull together, we have a lot to offer and a lot going for ourselves.