Speech at a Visit to Microsoft
Redmond, Washington, 22nd October 2015
A Dhaoine Uaisle,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dia dhaoibh tráthnóna. Is mór an pléisiúir dom a bheith anseo libh inniu.
Good afternoon to you all. It’s a great pleasure to be here in Redmond, Seattle, the nerve centre of Microsoft’s global operations. I’m very grateful to Executive Vice President Peggy Johnson for her kind invitation to visit your Headquarters and for the opportunity to meet with the Irish staff working here.
Technology has always been central to human development and civilization, but in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the pace of technological innovation has accelerated greatly and we have seen a number of advancements that revolutionised for an ever-growing number, the world of work, leisure and living itself. The fields of science, medicine, health, agriculture and education have been transformed beyond all recognition in the last 3 decades.
Microsoft has made a singular contribution to this transformation. From humble beginnings over 40 years ago, Microsoft has developed into a world leader in computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services.
Microsoft has also been important for contemporary Ireland. When it first opened its doors in Ireland in 1985 it had a small manufacturing facility employing just over one hundred people. They now employ 1,200 people and the team encompasses four separate divisions, Microsoft EMEA Operations Centre (EOC), Microsoft European Development Centre (EDC), Microsoft Sales, Marketing & Services Group (SMSG) and the EMEA Data Centre.
Ireland has the largest in the EU in terms of ratio of population between 18-24 who are graduates and are also proceeding to post-graduate studies.
Microsoft recently announced plans to locate the entire workforce all together under one roof for the first time in the company’s history in Ireland in a new €134m campus, bringing to €1bn the total investment by the company in Ireland. And of course we have many Irish people working in other Microsoft facilities, including here in Seattle. I congratulate you on your success and on the ongoing success of your company in what is a highly competitive environment.
Microsoft’s powerful role in the world and in our day-to-day lives also brings great responsibility. I have been invited to deliver a keynote address tomorrow morning at the University of Washington and in my paper I will focus on the valuable role science and technology can play, within an ethical model, in helping humanity meet the great challenges of the new world in which we live, challenges which include combating global poverty, climate change, appropriate development and the consequences of global inequality. All of us have a role to play in dealing with these serious challenges and some of you here today may even have some of the solutions within your grasp. We look for companies like Microsoft to push the boundaries of science through innovation in technology and the creation of a safer, more equal planet, but also in helping to ensure that the benefits of that innovation are available to those who most need it.
I have been reading about a number of Microsoft citizenship programmes which are aimed at serving the needs of communities at both global and local levels. In Ireland, these programmes have been focussed on areas of acute need.
Over the past 30 years the company has provided an estimated €30m of support to thousands of charities and non-profit organisations in Ireland through the provision of software, financial grants and expertise from employee volunteers.
The company provides:
- (a) free software to non-profit organisations across the island of Ireland;
- (b) Support for non-profit organisations to develop and implement the latest technology solutions to support their organisational requirements;
- (c) free technology training to non-profit organisations – this is provided by Microsoft employee volunteers.
These initiatives empower social change without prescribing its form, and strengthen our participative democracy in which civil society has such an important role to play.
Youth unemployment is a scourge across the continent of Europe, and one which I have described more than once as threatening the legitimacy of the political and social order of the Union. I was very impressed with Microsoft’s Irish initiative to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds and individuals who have been long-term unemployed to acquire IT skills – enabling them to secure work in the IT industry.
Youth2Work is a programme focused on providing training to unemployed youth aged 18-25 and at the end of each course a work placement is provided for each student. The ultimate objective is to ensure these placements translate to full time jobs.
After two years the initiative has already reached over 5,000 young people. Out of those 22% are in full time jobs and 58% are in full time education. The ambitious target to reach 10,000 young people over 3 years is well on track and I wish Microsoft well with this laudable programme.
As I look at the Irish staff at Microsoft assembled here this afternoon, I am reminded that Irish people, in their several migrations and in every generation, have a long and proud history here in the United States; the ties of history and kinship between our two people run deep.
The relationship of Ireland with the United States is unique – we are an island of some six million people and yet our worldwide diaspora is 70 million strong, of which some 44 million live here in the United States.
I know that Irish communities here, as everywhere, are no longer the homogenous entities that they were in generations gone by. Irish people are now represented in all walks of life; they live in many different parts of the country and are dynamic and pro-active citizens, proud of their Irish roots but equally proud of this dynamic and vibrant country which they now call home. During my time in Seattle I hope to meet with representatives of all of the Diaspora, from those who left Ireland in the 1950’s to the most recent arrivals here, keen to contribute to the cutting edge work carried out on this campus.
Modern communications means that the current Irish migration will be increasingly circular migration. In the comings and goings of that migration, my hope is that opportunities for innovation and expansion will increase and multiply in the country of which I have the honour to be President.
All of us in Ireland are deeply grateful to the great commitment shown by our emigrants, over many decades, to keeping our culture and heritage alive, no matter where you choose to live.
I look forward to spending some time with you shortly but I would like to take this opportunity to wish you well in your busy careers and your personal lives.
Beir bua agus beannacht. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.