REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND MARY MCALEESE TO THE ROTARY CLUB OF ATLANTA MONDAY, 30 APRIL
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND MARY MCALEESE TO THE ROTARY CLUB OF ATLANTA MONDAY, 30 APRIL, 2007
Dia dhíbh a chairde inniu. Tá an-áthas orainn bheith i bhur measc i Atlanta.
I am delighted to be here this morning and to have the opportunity to address this distinguished gathering in the Rotary Club of Atlanta and to reflect on our respective contemporary situations which have much more in common that many might think, not least the rapid contemporary transformations we have both experienced in recent decades.
I know that Georgia and the City of Atlanta are focused on developing an environment that attracts and fosters economic development. We, in Ireland, have adopted a very similar approach and with considerable success – a story dubbed the Celtic Tiger has in the past ten years made our once poor, underachieving country one of the most prosperous and globalised economies in the developed world. Low unemployment, high income levels, high levels of education, buoyant business conditions, excellent opportunities, cultural confidence, as comfortable in Atlanta, Georgia as in Athens, Greece, these are the defining characteristics of Ireland today.
Economic growth has averaged 7½ per cent per annum since the mid-1990s and as a result, living standards in Ireland have improved considerably with per capita incomes in Ireland on a par with those in the world’s advanced economies.
Strong growth has also transformed the labour market. Unemployment has fallen dramatically and the economy is now effectively at full employment. We are no longer exporting our best and brightest. Now they are availing of world-class opportunities at home and are making a major contribution to our continuing economic success. Moreover, the dynamism of the labour market has allowed us to absorb large inflows of migrants and non-Irish nationals now account for 10 per cent of our labour force. A generation ago few would have envisaged Ireland emulating the US to become one of the world’s immigrant-receiving countries.
The United States has played an important role in the transformation of Ireland through its trade, investment and sheer goodwill. Your involvement in our development has been pivotal to Ireland’s emergence as one of the world’s most successful economies and we thank you for your ongoing, vital support.
Many of you will be aware through direct involvement that the US is the largest source of inward foreign direct investment in the Irish manufacturing sector. US‑owned firms account for over one-quarter of total manufacturing employment. Most of this employment is in high-technology sectors such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, bio-technology and information technology. Employment in US‑owned financial services companies has also become increasingly important in recent years.
Many companies from this city have significant European-focused operations in Ireland. These include UPS, Equifax, Nova Corporation and of course the Coca-Cola Company.
As I’m sure you all know, Coca-Cola’s CEO Neville Isdell and Irial Finan, one of the company’s Executive Vice Presidents, were both born on the island of Ireland, and Don Keough, the legendary former Chairman of the company recently reconnected with his ancestral roots and became an Irish citizen, so you’ll excuse me for expressing a particular sense of pride in their achievements.
The presence of US-owned multinationals has undoubtedly been beneficial to the Irish economy through generating significant employment – both directly and indirectly – in high value-added sectors and in facilitating the transfer of technology and world-class management practices throughout the remainder of the economy. However, the benefits do not flow exclusively in an eastward direction. US firms operating in Ireland benefit from a low and transparent corporation taxation regime with profits taxed at 12.5 per cent. They also have access to a deep pool of skilled labour, flexible product and factor markets, a business friendly environment, not to mention a European market of 500 million people.
Encouraging greater levels of innovation is a priority for Ireland and this is precisely why I was so pleased to learn that, in partnership with IDA Ireland, Georgia Tech has established its first applied research institute outside the US in Athlone, a town in the heart of Ireland. This landmark development is a great example of what’s possible between institution and country when both are committed to a shared vision of innovation’s ever increasing importance.
Earlier today, I was delighted to have the opportunity of meeting Georgia Tech’s President, Dr. Wayne Clough and some of his colleagues. Ireland is delighted to be in partnership with such an eminent research institution. It is a symbiotic partnership that promises significant, ongoing, economic dividends for Ireland and the State of Georgia.
The emergence of a stronger Irish economy has seen the development of two-way flows on the investment front. Many of our leading companies are now firmly established on this side of the Atlantic and are significant contributors to economic activity in this country. In fact, Irish-owned companies now employ 74,600 people in the US. Ireland’s CRH plc (Cement Roadstone Holdings), a leading manufacturer of building materials, has the headquarters of its US affiliate, called Oldcastle, here in Atlanta. I am sure that the positive experiences of Oldcastle here in Atlanta and Georgia Tech’s investment in Ireland will encourage other Irish companies to establish a presence here in Georgia.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are a very fortunate generation, probably the most fortunate generation of Irish men and women ever, for we have, not only the prosperity that eluded us for so long, but also the peace that was yearned for over many generations. The Peace Process in Northern Ireland has seen developments in recent weeks which have simply taken our breath away. Ancient enmities have somehow been set aside and a new journey of hope has begun. That process takes a giant leap forward in Belfast next week when the Rev Ian Paisley, the leader of the largest Protestant/Unionist party, and Martin McGuinness, of Sinn Féin, the largest party within the Nationalist/Catholic community, jointly lead a new Executive in governance of all of the people of Northern Ireland. A few short weeks ago they would not be found in the same room with one another never mind the same government. I am hugely hopeful that a new era has dawned and that, in the words of the great Ulster poet, John Hewitt, we can now indeed begin to “build to fill the centuries’ arrears”. In telling this to an American audience, I am immediately conscious of the extraordinary contribution that your country, and, in particular, Irish America, has made to the building of peace in Ireland. Quite simply, without you, it could not have happened and we owe you the most profound thanks, for the triumph of peace in Ireland is undoubtedly also America’s triumph and something America is entitled to take real pride in.
The backdrop is changing and with the dawning of an all-Ireland economic perspective, we will shortly see the opening up of even greater opportunity for economic dynamism between the island of Ireland and regions like the state of Georgia.
You worked with us in bringing peace. And you worked with us in bringing prosperity. Now we hope you will work with us to bring the rewards of the convergence of two great, humanly uplifting phenomena.
Here in Atlanta, this great hub, you know how important it will be, to all of us, to be immersed in the global economy. We hope you will see Ireland as an obvious partner, and proven partner, with Northern Ireland now completing the triangle of dollar, euro and sterling in a unique and tantalising way.
Many times I have been privileged to witness the work of care, of reconciliation, of cross-cultural understanding facilitated by the Rotary Club worldwide. Here in Atlanta your hard work has earned you a formidable reputation as the organisation which brings together people of energy, drive and ideas, distilling them into a service to the city, this country and to humanity. Every so often, after many ups and downs, and a lot of patience, there arrives a tipping point after which nothing is the same, and the change which proved so elusive suddenly takes off like one of Ireland’s famous underdog greyhounds, Master McGrath, that won against the odds. Well, the odds have tipped in favour of a transformed Ireland and I hope that when its future success story is written, the names of Atlanta and Georgia will feature strongly. I know that the IDA, through Ciaran Morris, and Invest Northern Ireland, and indeed private sector networks such as the Atlanta Chapter of the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the USA will work enthusiastically with you in writing that coming chapter.
In the end, it all comes back to people and to the connections they make to one another. Ours, Ireland and America’s are age-old, we are family, we are kin. This is where, for generations, our people improved their lives and proved themselves when Ireland’s greatest export was her people.
Let me quote an excerpt in a letter home from one Irish emigrant here in the late 19th Century who said "To speak in truth, my last thoughts going to bed at night and first arising in the morning are of home. The thoughts of it everlastingly haunt my mind….. But then I still think that I am in as good a country as there is in the world today for a poor-man…’’
Here, our poor found opportunity that eluded them in Ireland. Today Ireland vindicates their sacrifice by its widespread prosperity and by its vibrant, contemporary links to the adopted homeland of so many of its children. I hope that between us we will continue to grow and develop those links, making the best Ireland ever, the best Georgia ever.
Gurb fada buan sibh. Go raibh maith agaibh