REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ANNUAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE OF THE INOU
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ANNUAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE OF THE INOU FRIDAY, 16TH NOVEMBER 2001
It was with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to be with you today and to open the Annual Delegate Conference of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed - my thanks to Tony Monks and his colleagues for the kind invitation.
In a relatively short period of time we in Ireland have become quite used to the unprecedented levels of economic growth and prosperity, massive job creation and dramatic reductions in unemployment. The grim past of chronic widespread unemployment and mass emigration have been turned around in this, the most achieving and successful generation Ireland has ever known. A once insular narrow economy overly dependant on marketing to its immediate neighbour now trades with the world. There are tides that lift and lower the global economy and Ireland’s boat has to ride those tides like everyone else. We have been privileged to see what we can accomplish when that tide is at full flood and today, as we feel the pull of an ebb tide, we have the new found confidence and resilience of a “can-do” culture which allows us to face the future with determination and faith.
Acknowledging the extent of our achievements and taking pride in them are essential sources of energy and self-confidence as Ireland goes forward into more uncertain times and whatever that future holds it cannot deflect our focus from continuing to widen the embrace of real equality of opportunity. We do not have the extensive natural resources enjoyed by some other countries. For us the greatest natural resource is in the genius of our people. Harnessing their fullest potential is the surest guarantee of a successful, peaceful and achieving Ireland. There is a saying “We do not inherit the world from our ancestors; rather, we borrow it from our children”. Our challenge is to ensure that the opportunities presented by our new found prosperity deliver tangible benefits to everyone, options for advancement accessible to all, from the early school leaver with literacy problems to the graduate. Ireland needs its full talent base working to its fullest power if we are ever to fully know our fullest potential.
We can rightly say Ireland has taken major strides towards building a truly inclusive society. I have been privileged in my own work to have seen the enormous effort that is going on to break the cycles of educational deprivation and poverty, of social exclusion and marginalisation which have conspired to waste the talents and the lives of too many of our people. There is a huge new imagination at work in tackling disadvantage but much remains to be done and until it is done, Ireland remains unfinished business. Many people still suffer real poverty and ironically as those who are doing well seem to accelerate further ahead, those whose boats are beached find their situation made all the harder to bear by the growing self-confidence and success around them. They need reassurance that the work of this unfinished business is the ambition of this generation, that it is a matter of principle and pride to us that we succeed in making Ireland a model of full political, economic, cultural and social participation.
Our generation is the first to have a chance to deliver that Ireland. We know that those in the mainstream are impoverished by the absence of those who are not. We know that we cannot afford to waste the talent and giftedness of any of our people. Every scrap of that talent and these gifts needs to be put at the service of building up in the first instance the human person, then family, community and country.
That it is why the work of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed is so important. Your organisation provides an essential reminder to us all that there are still many in this country who have not savoured the fruits of our new found wealth and who must not be forgotten about. For 10 years now, your organisation has provided a powerful blend of activism and advocacy, at local and national levels. You have been the voice of the unemployed in places where it needs to be heard and where it can make a real difference. You have been the encouragers and enablers of the unemployed as individuals with dreams and as a group with shared objectives.
There is a very true Irish saying “Ní neart le chur le chéile”, there is no strength without partnership. Indeed much of the INOU's success arises from the ethos of partnership which underpins so many of your activities. The Welfare Rights and Information Support Unit developed by the INOU with the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs illustrates the success of this partnership approach. At national level, the INOU in the context of your role as a social partner, has played an active part in the development and ongoing evaluation of a wide range of specially focussed labour market programmes all assisting in the steady decline of long-term unemployment.
A recent study of Employability by the Economic and Social Research Institute showed that issues such as literacy, education, age, motivational problems and residence, among others, still prevent too many people from making the transition to paid employment.
Yes we still have a way to go but now we have a much more sophisticated range of tools at out disposal than before, we have better economic resources than before, we have better insight than before, more fluent working partnerships than before, we believe in ourselves more than ever before. This conference is about making sure we gather together as effectively as possible all the things we need to complete Ireland’s journey towards full social inclusion. No one group has all the answers but the best answer lies in putting together the bits of wisdom, insight, skill, experience and theory that each of you brings with you. I wish you well in your deliberations.
Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh arís as ucht an cuireadh a thug sibh dom bheith anseo libh inniu. Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus guím gach rath air sna blianta atá romhaibh.