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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE IBEC CONFERENCE THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER 1998

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE IBEC CONFERENCE THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER 1998

I am delighted to be with you this morning and I am grateful to Turlough O’Sullivan, the Director of IBEC, for giving me the opportunity to speak to a body of people who are contributing so much to Ireland’s success and who so often don’t get the tremendous credit that they deserve.

Over the last two months I have been on State Visits to Australia and Canada. On both visits, which in each case covered a considerable amount of territory, I visited quite a number of cities, linking up with many diverse groups in the political, cultural, educational and business sectors. Common on both visits was the recognition of the very significant contribution which Irish immigrants had made to their adoptive countries – contributions far greater that our size would suggest. I was reminded time and again that the global Irish family – which now numbers in excess of 70 million people who are eager and proud of their Irish links – has been at the very centre of the social, political and commercial development of the countries where they settled.

The main talking point of course, was our phenomenal success over recent years. It is a success which has seen the economy turn the corner from struggle to prosperity – with a growth rate soaring to previously unimaginable levels. It sees Ireland as the only developed country listed among the world’s twenty fastest-growing economies by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It sees a marked improvement in our living standards, and the turn in the tide of unemployment - which had been such a drain on resources for so long - start to come within manageable proportions, with the increased rate of job creation and the outstanding success of our exporting companies, who last year gave us total exports of £37.4 billion. Another point which came up everywhere we went was how we had halted the flow of emigration – that we now have this rising tide that is an awful lot better than an ebb tide. With a rising tide you actually can do things for your people – you can offer hope.

I know and you know that there have been many factors at work in bringing about that success – and that it certainly didn’t just happen overnight. We know, for instance, of the impact of the huge level of foreign investment – of the many companies throughout the world who see Ireland as a strategic location – with the right mix of youth, talent, education, and State assistance to make their investment pay handsomely. We also know of the visionary politicians and administrators who several decades ago could see the value in investing in our education system so that coming generations could blossom in the future – and could form one of those essential ingredients in our success. And of course, we know of those who have been leading the charge, giving the direction, and managing the different sectors of the economy which have brought about this great success.

In coming here this morning I want to avail of this opportunity to acknowledge the role of “corporate Ireland” – the leaders, the managers, and the risk-takers who so often go unrecognised and unsung. People, I imagine, who tend to take a lead from that American poet, Dwight Morrow, who said that “The World is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit; try to belong to the first class – there’s far less competition”. Clearly there must be many people ‘doing’ things – maybe that’s why we don’t hear much about them!

One of the subjects that frequently came up in the many meetings and conversations we had during those State Visits, was the unique partnership approach that we have pioneered in this country. It is an approach that has brought together unions, employers, farmers and Government, coupled with a professional and talented labour force, into a formidable alliance. It is an alliance whereby a series of successful agreements have worked progressively to manage the development of the economy through consensus – each building on the success of its predecessor – and each pushing out the boundaries of possibility. Throughout that process, the members of IBEC have been central to the agreements – and through your willingness to work with your social partners you have achieved what would have only been a dream a little more than a decade ago. Our success today is itself a tribute to your efforts and your commitment. We are the generation which is poised to crack the millstone of poverty. We have the resources, the partnerships and the commitment to do that. “Corporate Ireland” is playing its part both at national level and at local level, in the way in which it is supporting local community-based partnerships – ensuring that the benefits of the Celtic Tiger are distributed to as many people as possible. If we stick to that partnership model, we have in front of us this very exciting opportunity to transform the next century – to make for Ireland the best century that there has ever been.

“Corporate Ireland” is about people - people who are dedicated to their missions in leadership and management, and who have been able to react quickly and readily to the ever changing circumstances and fortunes of the market place; people who know that the person “who uses yesterday’s methods in today’s work, won’t be in business tomorrow”. You are the people who are transforming Ireland into a ‘can do’ culture – who are giving it the energy and vision, and whose judgement is being rewarded with the success that we all enjoy. That success is in turn building up our self-confidence – our national self-esteem – and our readiness to adapt to change.

As you yourselves know, in business change is the one constant – and advances in technology like the information superhighway add to the pace of change. Management and leadership are all about meeting the challenge of change, generating competition and yet ensuring that a stable economy is the backbone which allows us to control or harness turbulence, and use it as a source of energy with which to drive forward. As managers and leaders in “corporate Ireland”, you have been at the core of our success. You have met the challenge of change and you have grasped the opportunities for us to prosper. That has been an enormous task which has yielded fantastic results.

I have every confidence that you can continue to harness the talents and energy at your disposal to rise to the many new challenges that lie ahead – to strive for new levels of excellence - and to take the opportunities that will see us continue to prosper – giving us a country where we talk about the contribution which our educated and talented “doers” have made to our development – an Ireland in which the global family can continue to have pride and confidence.