REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT FRANCO-IRISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ANNUAL GALA DINNER
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT FRANCO-IRISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ANNUAL GALA DINNER, INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, PARIS
Monsieur le Président, Votre Excellence, Invités distingués,
Mesdames et Messieurs,
Je suis très heureuse d’avoir été invitée au dîner de gala annuel de la Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Franco-Irlandaise. Je suis particulièrement ravie de pouvoir rencontrer autant de représentants de la communauté irlandaise ainsi que de nombreux amis du côté français.
Tá áthas orm agus ar mo fear céile Máirtín bheith libh anseo anocht. It gives me great pleasure to see you once again at the Annual Gala Dinner of the Franco-Irish Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I am particularly happy to meet so many representatives of the Irish community and French friends here tonight.
When I was last here in October 2000, the French franc and Irish pound were still a part of daily life. Now Ireland and France, both founder members of the Eurozone, share the same currency and our economic destinies are inextricably linked. It is also much easier to shop in Paris without exchange rate calculations!
In the five years which have elapsed, I am very pleased to see that trade relations between our two countries have continued to go from strength to strength. Thanks to many of you, France is the third largest export market for indigenous Irish companies after the United States and the UK. In this country with its unequalled international reputation for insistence on high quality food, it is very reassuring and exciting to see how popular Irish food and drink have become here.
The French now consume 80% of the lamb and 22% of the seafood which we export globally and those encouraging figures owe a lot to the hard work and determination of the teams led by Jim O’Toole of the Irish Food Board and Finnian O’Luasa of the Irish Seafood Board. Their success brings acclaim but also more work and even higher targets as Jim knows only too well - he is in the middle of an Irish beef promotional programme and next week’s Annual ‘Food Ingredients Fair’ here in Paris will be another important opportunity to showcase the best of Irish. Where relationships between countries are friendly, longstanding and comfortable, two-way trade flourishes. Those relationships are driven by human endeavour, sustained and developed over generations and all of us who benefit from them owe a huge debt of thanks to the people like you who take on that vocation of fostering closer links between our two countries. To Franck Kinnoo and all those involved in the Franco-Irish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I say a big thank you.
Statistics don’t help us digest a good dinner but there are a couple of figures which in a simple way indicate the level of two-way success in Irish-French commerce and indicate the level of pride you are entitled to take in the outcome of your personal commitment. In 2004, France was our fifth largest source of imports globally, valued at some €2 ¼ billion. While the trade balance between the two countries is in Ireland’s favour, the gap is closing. Indeed, it is safe to say that the vibrancy of the Irish market contributes to many jobs in France. It is important to underline that ours is one of the most open markets in the world and that our economic prosperity represents an opportunity for French companies. For example, your savoir-faire and expertise in the field of infrastructure have helped to transform our capital city. The LUAS, our new state-of-the-art Light Rail Transit System, connects Dublin’s city centre to many suburbs. The trams were built by your engineering giant Alstom and the system is operated by Connex.
France is also a significant foreign investor in Ireland. We currently have approximately 130 French-owned or controlled companies, employing about 7,000 people. We are very encouraged by the strong French presence in Ireland and want to see more of it.
For their part, successive Irish governments have worked to create a uniquely business-friendly environment which is attractive to foreign investment as well as encouraging the flourishing of indigenous companies. Educational levels are high with nearly 1 million in full-time education, out of a population of just over 4 million. The results of policies pursued patiently for two decades and more are now there for all to see.
I will give you one example. Ireland has become the biggest single global beneficiary of foreign direct investment in the pharmaceutical area. In all, 80 pharmaceutical sites have been created over the past 20 years, worth the equivalent of US$40 billion. To take one recent example, the pharmaceutical company Wyeth has established a major facility in Ireland representing an investment of US$2 billion. A significant stock of indigenous, intellectual capital has been built up in the process.
Ireland is fortunate to have the Industrial Development Agency, the semi-state body charged with attracting foreign investment, which has achieved spectacular success in this regard. I wish to thank Sean Denvir and his colleagues at the IDA for their ongoing efforts.
More French people travel to Ireland than from any other country in continental Europe - about 300,000 each year - and I am glad to see that visitor numbers to my native Northern Ireland increased by 50%. I wish to commend Áine Ades and all the staff at Tourism Ireland for their professionalism in further developing what is not only an important industry, North and South, but a concrete and tangible way for our French friends to discover Ireland and the Irish.
There is so much more that can be done, in fields as diverse as biotechnology and engineering. Your government has recently established poles of competitiveness and excellence across France. We in Ireland have globally-recognised expertise in many of the areas identified by the French Government and there are a number of examples of where top French companies have chosen to invest significantly in Ireland. Servier, Ipsen and Fournier have all invested in Ireland and continue to do so.
We would welcome the opportunity to forge more partnerships with France in fundamental research, technology and ultimately in their commercial application. Donald Black and his team at the Enterprise Ireland office in Paris have worked tirelessly and with considerable flair in promoting synergies between French and Irish companies. I encourage him and his colleagues to keep pushing out those new boundaries.
Good cultural relations and mutual cultural curiosity are part of our shared legacy and they help underpin our buoyant shared commercial story. As we gather here tonight, the 6th French Film Festival opens in Dublin. With films being shown consecutively for the next 10 days, the festival demonstrates the key position film occupies in your culture and the popularity of French cinema in Ireland. Events such as these provide an excellent opportunity to deepen, update and refreshen the understanding of French culture in Ireland. It makes new friends for both countries and from those friendships comes the seed-bed of tomorrow’s healthy, happy multi-layered connections.
Comme l’année s’achève et que nous sommes à la veille de 2006, je voudrais adresser à la France tous mes voeux de succès pour la Coupe du Monde de Football – bien que vous ayez joué un rôle déterminant dans notre élimination. Peut-être l’Irlande participera-t-elle avec vous à la Coupe du Monde de Rugby en 2007.
Je voudrais conclure en vous remerciant encore de m’avoir invitée ce soir, ce qui m’a permis de m’adresser à vous tous.