ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE TO VRIENDEN VAN NIEUWSPOORT DINNER IRELAND: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE TO VRIENDEN VAN NIEUWSPOORT DINNER IRELAND: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE MONDAY, 2ND MAY, 2011
Goedenavond
It is a great pleasure to join you for dinner in this historic building so redolent of the
strength of Dutch tradition. We in Ireland admire and respect your strong
independence with its active global engagement expressed in many ways, from your
extensive international trade through the sharing of your distinctive cultural heritage
to the international solidarity expressed so outstandingly in your development aid
programme.
The great Dutch Christian humanist Erasmus gave to Europe an enduring intellectual patrimony that is honoured today through the European Union student mobility and exchange programme which bears his name. A century later it was another Dutchman Grotius, a great exponent of natural law, who would set the scene for the all important development of international law. And of course your country is the homeland of any number of legendary artists who opened up to the everyday world, the sublime and the transcendent.
The Netherlands and Ireland have had very different histories. They have occasionally
overlapped; not for nothing is one third of Ireland’s national flag, orange in colour.
Not for nothing does the white band that separates the orange from the green distil our
history into a search for permanent peace between two very particular traditions.
Today, however, Ireland is at peace, and Ireland and the Netherlands are colleagues in
the European Union with a present and a future that are inextricably linked.
As a result of our common membership of the Union, the political, economic, cultural and social ties between us have grown and developed these past forty years so that today we can say that the Netherlands is Ireland’s sixth largest trading partner for merchandise and our third largest partner for trade in services. Dutch companies are the sixth largest foreign investors in Ireland employing almost two and half thousand people. Irish investment in the Netherlands is also strong with companies such as Smurfit Kappa and CRH amongst the largest Irish investors in your economy.
Dutch tourists are welcomed to Ireland in significant numbers and there is a strong Irish community in the Netherlands as well as a thriving Dutch community in Ireland.
The platform on which to build an Irish-Dutch shared future is stronger and more coherent than in past centuries. But what does that future hold - that is the theme I want to address, in particular the issue of Ireland: Looking to the Future.
For more than a decade Ireland’s economic growth rates had been amongst the highest in Europe but from 2004 our competitiveness began to erode, an asset bubble developed and when the global economic crisis took hold in 2008, we were ill prepared. It seemed that almost overnight we went from being a country with high annual growth rates and healthy government finances to being a country faced with addressing the challenges of severe economic adjustment. This crisis has impacted on every family and on every individual as difficult decisions were implemented to cut government expenditure and increase taxes.
The crisis not only led to a sharp contraction in our domestic economy and in our public finances but it also exposed deep-seated problems in both the property and banking sectors. We are reducing, restructuring and recapitalising our banking system and have introduced fundamental reforms in our regulatory systems. Last November the Government agreed a programme of assistance with the EU and the IMF which provides both the financial support and the time needed to restore market confidence in our economy. International and market response is increasingly encouraging. We have examined honestly and thoroughly what went wrong in our systems, attitudes and procedures and are taking humbling lessons from that.
Throughout this economically convulsive period and despite the hardships it has imposed on the public, Irish democracy remains a strength. Ten weeks ago, over 70% of the electorate voted in a general election. They voted strongly for a change of Government but understood clearly that there would be no painless way in which to repair the damage that has been done. For its part the new Government has pledged to ‘… seek to match the spirit, courage and pride of the people, so that our country can confidently begin a period of renewal’.
Early results are promising. The deficit is being reined in. A regulatory framework for the financial industry has been put in place and the new Government has moved swiftly to change the landscape in the banking sector with a radical restructuring designed to deliver a smaller system, fit for purpose and tailored to the needs of the real economy.
We are working with the IMF and the EU institutions so that we can emerge strengthened from this experience and return to a path of sustainable economic growth. The report from the review in mid-April of our commitments noted good progress and targets met by a comfortable margin.
An export-led recovery is already making itself felt. Modest economic growth is returning and our balance of payments will move into surplus this year. Industrial production is up; and the purchasing managers’ indices are particularly encouraging. We are investing heavily in innovation in order to boost our productivity. Indeed, the New York Times reported recently that output per hour in Ireland is higher than in the United States.
The growth in exports across all sectors has been particularly heartening with a growth
rate of 6% recorded in 2010. Our exports cover a broad range of economic sectors. It
may be worth stating a few basic figures of which you may not be aware. Ireland is
among the largest net exporters of pharmaceuticals in the world, the second largest
exporter of computer and IT services, behind India and ahead of Germany, the UK and
the US, and the fourth largest exporter of beef.
Our economy is flexible with a track record of fast adjustment. Costs have been cut in order to improve competitiveness and boost exports and tourism. Irish labour costs have improved convincingly relative to the euro area as a whole. The benign factors that supported the growth and transformation in our economy in the 1990s are still in place and are helping to bring about a dramatic improvement in our competitiveness. Thankfully Ireland remains high in the international rankings for ease of doing business.
There has been massive investment in infrastructure - in roads and in public facilities
- as is very obvious to those who visit Ireland. We have the youngest workforce in Europe, with 36% of the population under the age of 25. They are well educated and trained and we are investing heavily in education, in research and innovation especially in science and technology, in order to boost our productivity and to prepare for the future. At the same time steps have been taken to increase our retirement age to 68 by 2028.
Prices have fallen at a time when they have risen elsewhere in Europe. Rents have dropped and the Government is working with businesses to help them reduce energy costs. A quarter of our private companies have cut salaries by 12%, while public sector salaries have been reduced by an average of nearly 15%. The European Commission has forecast that unit labour costs in Ireland will fall by 9% in the period between 2009 and 2012 at a time when these costs in the euro area as a whole will rise by 5%.
The focus of the new Government is on building a modern economy whose strength will derive from innovation and creativity. More Irish companies are engaging in research and development than ever before. Even in 2009 – the worst year of recession – investment in R&D rose by 2%. Ireland ranks in the top 20 nations for quality of scientific publications. World business leaders recognise Ireland as a significant location for fresh thinking and a global hub for innovation. We continue to invest in renewable energy and green technologies.
The free flow of ideas and the cross-fertilisation that comes with innovation are vital to success in the twenty-first century smart economy. Research, Development and Innovation in Ireland are driven by an exceptional level of collaboration between industry, academia, government and the regulatory authorities. The exciting work being done in this collaborative environment was an important factor in the selection of Dublin as the 2012 European City of Science.
Ireland continues to be an attractive location for foreign direct investment. In the past
year, the world leaders in high-tech sectors like pharmaceuticals and IT have expanded
or increased their research and development capacity in Ireland. The Government is
strongly committed to maintaining a stable corporate tax regime, and our infrastructure,
our business culture and our dynamic well-educated and innovative English-speaking
workforce all add to our appeal. Ireland’s long history as a base for multinationals has
also brought about an exciting new synthesis, encouraging indigenous entrepreneurs to
build on the success of the multinationals to create highly-skilled, market-leading
businesses. We are protecting our natural landscape which provides the best ingredients
for our successful food and tourism industries and indeed our agri-food export sector is
performing particularly well. Ireland is set to have the world’s first national beef quality
and sustainability assurance scheme accredited to the Carbon Trust.
Though the world media and our own media are currently dominated by our economic concerns, there is a richness of civic and cultural life, a community strength and solidarity that makes Ireland a very pleasant and easy place to live.
The World Competitiveness Yearbook ranks Ireland fourth in the world for having a culture that is open to new ideas, our sparkling literary heritage is well known, our music, film and dance also have universal appeal, our sporting life is dynamic and we draw on the strengths of our global emigrant family whose genius also replenishes and refreshes our deeply textured cultural life and character.
While economic over-reach is a big disappointment currently, the phenomenal success of this generation in achieving peace in Northern Ireland is a source of pride and real hope. Since the Good Friday Agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed by the people of Ireland North and South in 1998, a new culture of consensus has started to grow in place of the tired but centuries-old culture of politico/sectarian conflict. There is now an effective powersharing government in Northern Ireland working to consolidate the peace between the two traditions.
Cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland has never been better and is growing exponentially and the historically vexed relationships between Ireland and Britain are now warm, friendly and collegial. These changes augur well in so many ways and though there remains a small rump still wedded to the old, failed culture of paramilitarism, the mutually beneficial economic, political and social landscape which is now emerging from the success of the Peace Process is already charting a new, attractive and hope-filled future.
Just as working together on the island of Ireland contributes to our security, well-being and prosperity, so too has working together in Europe been transformative for Ireland and other member states. Ireland embraced Europe and appreciated the manner in which access to European markets, support from European funds and institutions helped to transform Irish business and culture. Participation in the work of building the
New Europe gave us confidence in ourselves and a platform from which to showcase our country and our culture.
The Irish love affair with Europe has not dimmed though it has matured. Eurobarometer surveys still show the Irish amongst the strongest supporters of the Union and we acknowledge the vital support which Europe is providing to us at present.
Sometimes when addressing the details of European policy it can be easy to neglect the bigger of Europe’s signal achievements to date and its huge yet-untapped potential for the future. In little more than a couple of generations, the European Union has become a powerful global economic presence and centre of gravity, as a community of democratic values and a beacon of hope in a sometimes chaotic world. Ireland, The Netherlands and our 25 partners can only act effectively in that environment through the unique pooling of sovereignty, the respectful college of partners, that is the EU.
We in Ireland know only too well that tackling today’s economic crisis depends on effective responses at European as well as national level. We recognise our responsibility to work together to address the distortions and imbalances which have been created, particularly in the financial sector. Our common currency the euro is fundamental to our economic well-being and we are all committed to ensuring that the right decisions are taken to preserve and secure the enduring health of our monetary union.
Just as we know Ireland will transcend its difficulties as it has so often transcended hardship in the past we believe in the European Union’s capacity to Europe overcome present difficulties and withstand the inevitable ups and downs that the future will hold. Ireland and the Netherlands have a common interest in ensuring the robustness and the solidarity of European Union for that is the best guarantee we have of a future to look forward to. The Union needs a citizenry that is engaged, active, and involved and so we have a duty to promote a culture of good communication between institutions and people so that the best champions of the Union’s virtues and values are the men and women who are its life, its heart and its soul.
Those values and virtues are a gift not simply to our own citizens but to the International
Community where we 27 nations stand emphatically and unequivocally for human
dignity, human rights and the rule of good law. Both our countries share a strong
commitment to international peace and security and we play a distinguished role in the
UN-mandated peace support operations which so often stand between hope and hell for
the world’s suffering children. Over 400 of our troops are due to return to Lebanon in
the coming weeks continuing a tradition of militarily neutral peace-keeping that started
in the Congo fifty years ago and has continued in many other tough fields of operation in
the years since.
My message to you this evening is that Ireland has work to do at home, in Europe and in the world and we are doing it. Working with our partners, we will return to a path of sustainable prosperity, wiser from our bitter experience but determined that our resilient spirit will win through and that the twin ambitions of peace and prosperity will in time rhyme as never before. Meanwhile we are grateful for good Dutch friends and colleagues, who come to us as visitors or to do business. Let us invest in the ties of mutual understanding and solidarity that will build up our European Union and which create a legacy of civic strength that it is hard to express in mere figures.
Thank you offering me this opportunity to revisit your beautiful country, for your warm hospitality and your supportive interest in Ireland. There is an Irish blessing which says may you always have the warm, soft smile of a friend. I found that here and know you will find the same in Ireland.