REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE TO THE GERMAN-IRISH CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE TO THE GERMAN-IRISH CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE ON THE OCCASION OF THE CHAMBER’S 25TH ANNI.
Dia dhíbh a cháirde inniu. Tá mé iontach sásta bheith anseo libh ar an ócáid speisialta seo.
My thanks to you all for that warm welcome and to Ralf Lissek, CEO of the German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce for inviting me to share these 25th anniversary celebrations with you.
For a quarter of a century the members of this Chamber have done their utmost to forge, develop and sustain effective business links between Ireland and Germany. From a simple idea, you have created the biggest bilateral Chamber in Ireland with a membership of over 300 and a vital support service for those seeking information and advice on business opportunities in Germany and Ireland. Over these 25 years a new generation has grown up in both countries. Whether they are Irish or German, they are also young Europeans who understand that their destinies are powerfully entwined and who, thanks to you, have considerable opportunities for forging shared lives and shared prosperity.
In this century, with your help, we reenergize and reshape the longstanding links between Ireland and Germany that bring us from early Christianity to contemporary commerce, from St. Killian’s 7th Century evangelising mission that brought him to Wurzburg where he has been venerated ever since, to the statue of the Three Fates in Stephen’s Green, a gift presented by the German Government to the Irish people in recognition of Ireland’s generosity in assisting German children during difficult times just after the end of the Second World War.
Today Germany is a very important trading partner for Ireland, our 4th largest in fact, and indeed was one of the first countries to establish a significant foreign direct investment presence here in Ireland dating back to the late 1960s and early 1970s – pre-dating our membership of the European Union. Following our entry in 1973 to what was then the European Economic Community, the number of German-owned firms locating in Ireland increased dramatically. Your records show that there are now 209 German companies based in Ireland employing approximately 20,000 employees. That makes Germany the third biggest investor in Ireland after the US and Britain with an investment exceeding 8 billion euros and an annual turnover of over 6 billion euro in the very diverse sectors covered by German companies in Ireland.
Indigenous Industry
Throughout the Chamber’s history, Germany was, and continues to be, an exceptionally important trading partner for the export of the products and services of Irish companies. In the early years, Ireland relied heavily on Germany as a key export market for food and traditional clothing and other consumer items. Food continues to be an important element of Irish exports but the trend has changed dramatically in line with the changing and rapidly innovating industrial landscape in Ireland. Now, dynamic and confident Irish companies are focused on selling into other sectors of the German economy and we are glad to say they are showing signs of growth in areas such as automotive, medical technology and telecommunications and information technology.
We are grateful to you for your efforts to maximise the trade opportunities between Ireland and Germany. As business partners, the Irish and the Germans have the ability to create strong synergies when doing business together. We learn from the strengths of the other and know that when we effectively harness our individual and complementary talents we create new and exciting business opportunities and solutions.
Germany today is the world’s third largest economy and the single-largest exporter in the world. Its infrastructure is excellent, has a strong industrial base and high R&D investment levels as well as the enviable record of having the lowest inflation rate in the EU. In this phase of Ireland’s development as an advanced industrial nation and the pressing need for Ireland to maintain competitiveness against a background of increasing costs, it makes sense to look to Germany for best-practice examples of how our companies can innovate and automate to compete. It is in this area that a great emphasis is being placed, at a strategic level, within our emerging enterprise development policy.
Irish Food and Drink Exports
One of the major Irish success stories in recent years has been the growth of Irish food exports to European destinations, in particular to the German market. Working in partnership with Irish industry, the strong and continued commitment of Bord Bia to the German market is best illustrated in the value of Irish food and drink exports to Germany which are now worth close to €400 million annually.
This strong performance, achieved in what is surely one of Europe's most challenging markets, has been built on our success in penetrating key market segments coupled with our high-quality image and reputation for premium products across the entire product range - dairy, meat, seafoods, food ingredients and in the drinks sector - all of which are performing exceptionally well in Germany. It is particularly good to see the emergence of imaginative commercial partnerships like the Irish Dairy Board’s strategic partnership with Germany's renowned bakery, 'Harry’, to see Irish cheeses enjoy a growing reputation with high-end retail and food service customers; Irish drinks, lamb and butter on German supermarket shelves and the return of prime Irish beef, in particular, in line with the restoration of consumer confidence in beef across Europe. Good news too on the seafood front where Germany is Ireland’s largest customer of organic salmon and Irish mussels which have recently achieved an important retail listing.
All in all, the trade and investment environment between Ireland and Germany is in a very healthy position with exports increasing again, outward investment by Irish companies to Germany growing and inward investment by German companies to Ireland also growing. None of these things should be taken for granted. They did not happen by coincidence but by conscious effort. Geography separates us but human effort unites us and we owe a considerable debt to the individuals and organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, which have been instrumental in bringing this good news story about and on whose shoulders rests the responsibility for its continued development.
For 25 years you have made it your voluntary mission to be bridges between Ireland and Germany, actively fostering trade and investment, building up commerce, widening opportunities, advocating the potential to audiences in both countries. Your commitment has paid huge dividends for both countries. We can count them in jobs created, in profits made, in sectors covered and the statistics alone reflect great credit on your vision. But there are other immeasurable benefits for which we are also grateful - the friendships encouraged and facilitated by your work, the interest in each other’s culture, the framing of a new European consciousness which makes firm friends and partners of tomorrow’s young Irish and German men and women. You created the bridges they walk so easily across and gain so much from. Today, for all we owe you, I say thank you and hope that your success will give you continued energy and enthusiasm to keep bringing Ireland and Germany ever closer. May I wish the Chamber even greater success in the next 25 years.
Go raibh maith agaibh.