I’m delighted to be here with you this morning and I’d like to thank Ian for inviting me to make an opening contribution.
For me, the title for this Summit – Growth 2020: Embracing Challenge and Maximising Potential – sums up Ireland and the Irish.
In the past seven years, we have, as a nation faced unprecedented challenges.
When the current Government came to power in 2011, the country couldn’t pay its way and couldn’t borrow to pay its way.
We faced difficult times, tough decisions.
It hasn’t been easy - and for some people it still isn’t easy.
But the country is now in a much better place than it was in 2011.
We have done what Irish people do best - faced the challenges, rolled up our sleeves and worked our way back to recovery.
Ireland’s recovery has been extremely hard-won – requiring many sacrifices from our people.
This Government is not going to put the recovery at risk.
On the contrary, I’m determined we realise the immense potential we have now.
In order to realise that potential, all of us must work together – Government, business and workers.
It is the job of Government to set the policy, to provide the framework for growth, to make the required investment and to give leadership.
It is the job of business and workers to create the jobs and to create the wealth which sustains our living standards and makes it possible for us to create a decent society.
And that is, after all, the goal – a decent society which delivers living standards and public services which all our citizens can benefit from.
A key element which Government brings to the table is fiscal responsibility.
I say this as Tánaiste but also as Leader of the Labour Party.
Being responsible with people’s money is not a province of the right in politics.
Those of us on the left – or at least those of us on the left who are interested in improving living standards rather than the politics of protest – know that we cannot spend money which we don’t have.
So in last month’s Budget, we looked to reduce the deficit to just 1.2% of GDP and our debt-GDP ratio to 93% next year.
These figures are in stark contrast to the situation this Government inherited – a deficit of more than 32% of GDP in 2010 and a debt burden which peaked at 123% of GDP.
I think any reasonable observer will agree that the performance of the economy in last few years has been impressive.
· GDP grew by 4.8% in 2014 and is forecast to grow by 6.2% this year.
· Unemployment has fallen by more than one third, from over 15% to 9.3% now.
· Some 130,000 jobs have been added in the economy since the crisis peak.
· Consumer confidence is much improved and we are starting to see it reflected in consumer spending.
We will have a balanced budget in a couple of years, something most economists would have described as a pipe dream four or five years ago.
None of this has happened by chance.
I have been conscious from day one that job creation was the key to recovery.
As a Government, we place immense emphasis on employment and enterprise through Pathways to Work and the Action Plan for Jobs.
These are interlinked strategies aimed at supporting employers to grow and create jobs, and helping jobseekers take advantage of those jobs.
We are committed to raise the level of employment to 2.1m by 2018 and we are making great progress.
I know that you will spend some time this morning discussing the issue of access to finance.
There are over 80 Government supports available for entrepreneurs and SMEs to help them create and grow their businesses.
Through Enterprise Ireland, entrepreneurs, start-ups and expanding companies can seek advice and apply for grant funding and mentoring opportunities.
I am acutely aware that this has been an issue for some businesses in recent years.
There is less competition in the retail banking sector now than there was before the crisis, and so Government has intervened to ensure that business has access to the support it needs.
Through the Microfinance Fund, the Government is offering €90 million in new lending to help grow micro-enterprises in all sectors.
Under the Credit Guarantee Scheme, €450 million in additional bank lending has been made available to provide SMEs with access to valuable capital and investment.
My own party was particularly anxious that we should make resources available to support job creation and that is why we set up the Strategic Investment Fund last year.
There are also many grants available to businesses, which are specifically targeted for growth and development.
All these supports will help businesses to create employment.
But we must also ensure that people are ready to take up these jobs.
Through the Pathways to Work strategy, the Department of Social Protection has been transformed from a passive provider of benefits to an active and engaged public employment service.
We are working with business to make sure that our labour activation programmes continue to evolve and become more effective.
The social protection system provides vital support to people who are out of work.
During my time as Minister, I have looked to expand the focus of the Department so that we now also see it as a vital part of our job to give unemployed people the support and help needed to get back to work.
We have also moved to remove some of the disincentives to work which were part of the system.
Latest figures from the CSO show that youth unemployment has dropped below 20% - a massive decrease on the 30.1% recorded in June 2012.
However, this figure is still too high.
We are engaging with the young unemployed by enhancing existing and introducing new measures as part of the Irish Youth Guarantee.
This Government has also re-invigorated the apprenticeships system, which has always been a tried and tested method of developing highly skilled workers using a powerful mixture of course work and practical on-the-job learning.
Earlier this year, the Government announced 25 new apprenticeship schemes that have been agreed between industry and training agencies.
These include trainee positions in software development, medical devices, financial services, accountancy, logistics and hospitality.
Sustainable competitiveness is critical to withstanding the vagaries of the global economic cycle.
The crisis has shown countries rated as more competitive before the crisis tended either to withstand it better (e.g., Germany, Switzerland) or bounce back more quickly as in the case of Ireland.
I know that for some people the word “competitiveness” conjures up wage cuts and stripping away the protections that workers enjoy.
That is not my view.
Decent wages and working conditions are a vital part of the European social model and the Labour Party in Government has looked to protect those standards.
In my view, our two biggest challenges in maintaining our international competitiveness are infrastructure and skills.
Our new Capital Plan, Building on Recovery, sets out our plans to invest in vital infrastructure.
This covers issues such as energy, telecoms, transport, and childcare.
This investment is critical to support economic growth and enterprise development in Ireland and Europe.
As you know, Ireland is currently able to borrow on the international markets at very low rates of interest.
In that context it is frankly frustrating that we are prevented by Eurozone fiscal rules from doing more in the way of direct investment by the State.
As things stand, the spending rules do not distinguish between current and capital spending.
I fully understand the motivation behind the fiscal rules and the Labour Party is fully committed to acting within the rules.
The Budget and our responsible fiscal stance to reduce our deficit and debt are all demonstrations of that.
But it is important that the rules allow for investment in the productive capacity of the economy – especially so in countries like Ireland which are trying to make up for a lack of investment in the past.
I know that this view is supported by many of my social democratic colleagues in the EU, but I acknowledge that for the moment at least we do not have majority support.
In that context, it is all the more important that we secure private sector investment in infrastructure and the plan sets ambitious targets in this regard.
In the past, Ireland has successfully utilised public-private partnership approaches to fund infrastructure delivery.
The Labour Party has supported the use of PPPs in the provision of infrastructure, but we do not approach this issue with rose-tinted glasses.
PPPs must deliver a fair return for business but they must also deliver for society.
Models will change over time and so they should.
The key is that business and the State should act together in the public interest in a way that delivers for both.
For Ireland, capital expenditure, however, is not just about physical infrastructure.
Investment and growth is increasingly driven by knowledge and skills – investing in people through our education system is a key part of our long term strategy to improve Ireland’s competitiveness.
We are undertaking important structural reform in our education and skills system.
We are doing this so as to ensure that Ireland as a country stays competitive and that our citizens have the skills they need to maximize their Individual potential.
The global economy is constantly changing.
And Ireland must change constantly to take new opportunities.
That means that we need to invest in research and innovation and also in knowledge and skills.
Your discussions today are forward looking – from looking at how to maximize our potential within an increasingly competitive global economy; to unlocking funding potential; to embracing new innovations to maintain competitiveness.
This is another strength of this country.
We are constantly seeking out new opportunities to ensure that we are consistently at the forefront of innovation and job creation.
This is why Ireland is on track to be the fastest growing economy in Europe for the second year running in 2015.
I expect that there will be many interesting discussions here today which I’m sure will provide many ideas for Ireland going forward.