REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY McALEESE AT LUNCH HOSTED BY THE MAYOR OF DALLAS
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY McALEESE AT LUNCH HOSTED BY THE MAYOR OF DALLAS AND THE DALLAS COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN
Mayor Kirk, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
I am delighted to be here with you in Dallas today and I would like to thank Mayor Kirk and Philip O’Brien Montgomery of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations for this kind invitation. It is a particular pleasure to have the opportunity to address such a prestigious audience, especially at a time when so many areas of Irish life are experiencing such profound change.
At this point, Mr Mayor, I have spent just a short time in Dallas. Already, however, I have been struck not alone by the beauty of the city’s skyline, but also by the warmth and graciousness of its people. In Ireland, we take pride in combining the best of traditional hospitality and friendliness, with a modern and dynamic economy. And so already I feel right at home here, for it is clear that in Dallas you’ve found the same recipe for success.
My short visit has given me some appreciation of the great pride that Texans take in their state. This magnificent museum building, for example, with its superb collection, speaks volumes about Dallas’s appreciation of the arts. I know that all of the communities here, regardless of their ethnic origins, have contributed to making this the great state it is today. In Ireland, we are very proud of the role our community has played in Texas and continues to play today, and I am glad to see so many of you here on this occasion. Texas, and Dallas in particular, is very much to the forefront of our developing relations with the United States and so I am especially pleased to have this chance to talk to you about Ireland today.
As I mentioned earlier, Ireland is going through a period of profound change. Historic developments are taking place in Northern Ireland, brought about by the peace process that led to the Good Friday Agreement. The Irish economy has been transformed in less than a single generation from an agriculture-based economy just a few short years ago, to becoming the largest exporter of software in the world. These changes, dramatic in themselves, have been accompanied by an equally dramatic degree of social transformation. The Ireland we live in today, in short, is barely recognisable from the Ireland many of your friends and family may have emigrated from 30, 20 or even 10 years ago.
As the landscape of our economy and society have been transformed, so the world around us and our relationship with it has also undergone considerable change. The European Union of which we have been a member since 1973, is currently laying the ground-work for changes of enormous significance, which will mean almost doubling its current membership from 15 to 27 members. The end result will see over 500 million people living within the Union. By any standards this is no small undertaking and offers the historic prospect of a continent which has known the devastation of crippling wars among neighbours, now moving forward on a common path of peace, stability and shared prosperity. Unprecedented developments in communications, technology and transport links have also profoundly changed the environment in which Ireland operates. From our position as a small island on the periphery of Europe, we have now found ourselves moving ever closer to the centre of global developments in ways unimaginable just a few short years ago. We are the only English speaking member of the Euro zone and perched as we are on the western rim of Europe, the last parish before Dallas, we enjoy a unique set of comfortable relationships with our European neighbours to the east and our American friends to the west. We have benefited politically and economically from both and indeed we make our own contribution to sustaining and developing those rapidly changing relationships.
Such rapid development inevitably brings its own challenges, including the challenge to ensure that the benefits of these good times in Ireland, are shared by all, and that we do not leave people at the margins of our society, particularly in this age of increasing globalization. It is not so long ago that many of our own ancestors knew at first hand the difficulties being faced today by human beings in many of the disadvantaged parts of the world. We are, as I have remarked before, a first world country with a third world memory. It should keep us humble. We are conscious that those of us who have been fortunate enough to enjoy the benefits of prosperity also face the challenge now of exploring ways to bridge the divide separating rich from poor, whether within or between nations. We have witnessed the surge of power which increased access to education, increased access to jobs, increased civic participation, has brought to Ireland. We know that when potential is unlocked the individual benefits, but the country also benefits from the increase in knowledge equity, the increase in civic strength. Likewise when that talent is wasted, we all lose. Unlocking that potential, putting it to the use of human society right across the world, starting in our own back yard, is and always has been a strong value in our thinking.
Wherever I have the privilege of speaking to audiences like yourselves, questions inevitably arise about how all the changes in Ireland came about. Straightforward questions do not always have straightforward answers, but I would like to try.
As many of you are aware, historic and profound change has taken place in Northern Ireland and it is this, more than anything, which has created the unprecedented sense of optimism and hope that permeates life on the island of Ireland today. Just over 3 years ago, on 10 April 1998, the Irish and British Governments and the parties in Northern Ireland announced the historic news that they had secured an agreement that represented a truly new and fresh start for all the people of Ireland and for the future of Northern Ireland in particular. For the first time in over thirty years, we have achieved a peace agreement that respects and honours the different unionist and nationalist traditions. Just as it was remarkable that politicians holding so many opposing and seemingly intractable views agreed to come together, even more remarkable perhaps was that those who really mattered, the people, endorsed the politicians’ work by voting overwhelmingly in favour of the Good Friday Agreement in referenda on both parts of the island of Ireland. Three years on, we continue to work together to make sure it is a success and that the people who deserve it most, the people of Northern Ireland who lived for such a long time in the shadow of violence and fear, have a chance to enjoy the peaceful life they so richly deserve. They waited a long time for it to come. We have no intention of letting this opportunity pass.
The advent of peace was not an accident of history, or a fortuitous chance. It came about because of the courage of political leaders and their supporters from all sides of the political spectrum, and their deep commitment to addressing the problems of Northern Ireland. Current and previous Irish and British Governments, together with the political parties, worked for many years to lay the foundations necessary and build a solid framework for the peace process. It is impossible to imagine that we would have come so far without the assistance and encouragement of our friends here in the United States and we remain deeply grateful for this, and for the ongoing support of Congress and of your former Governor, President Bush, and his new Administration.
There are certainly still difficulties in ensuring that the full Agreement works as the spirit of the Agreement intended. We did not expect that it would be otherwise, and no doubt we will encounter more difficulties as we continue with the crucial work of bedding it down. But I firmly believe that the resilience, resourcefulness, courage and determination which brought about the Good Friday Agreement will see us through. The people of Northern Ireland have put their faith in the peace process and we will not let them down.
The other great change that has taken place in Ireland in recent years, and with which many of you may already be familiar in general terms, is the transformation of the Irish economy. Ireland has had the fastest growing economy in the European Union in recent years. Unemployment, long one of the most intractable economic and social problems in the state, has fallen below 4%, in effect full employment. Mass emigration has been replaced by net immigration, including some who have come from the United States to avail of the new opportunities.
The seeds of this success were sown in the late 1960's, when we began to abandon the policy of protectionism which we had followed since our independence, forty years earlier. As a small economy we had no choice but to take to heart the dictum of Benjamin Franklin that “no nation is ever ruined by trade”, a maxim which is still applied with a will in Ireland today. Major initiatives were taken in those years to generate an investment climate which would encourage foreign export companies to locate in Ireland. We are delighted to say that foreign investors responded with enthusiasm, none more so than American companies, and indeed you are our most important source of inward investment today as well as our largest trading partner.
Ireland’s current level of economic success could not have taken place without our membership of the European Union. By any measure, our experience of EU membership has been a positive one. It not only opened up markets, it also opened up our horizons, giving us both the means and the confidence to play our full part in Europe and in the wider world. When we joined in 1973, there was a general expectation that membership would benefit our economy - however, any expectations voiced at that time have been more than exceeded. This is clear in simple statistical terms: when we joined, Ireland’s GDP was 60% of the EU average, by 2000 it was estimated at almost 114% of the average.
The greatest economic benefits of membership have come from our participation in the European Single Market from the early 1990s onwards. This gave Ireland’s industries access to a market of hundreds of millions. They rose to the challenge of increased external competition and proved that they could hold their own, and more. The Single Market also made Ireland a more attractive location for foreign investment, as many American companies, including some here in Texas, can testify.
Of course, Ireland’s economic success is also about the policies put in place at home by successive Governments. For example social partnership, a consultative mechanism which brings together Government, employers, industry, trade unions and voluntary groups, has created a stable and predictable environment for business and investment. We have also put in place a tax system which rewards enterprise and investment. Over many decades, Governments have invested heavily in education in Ireland and the rewards of this investment are visible in our highly educated work force which has, in turn, both attracted high-tech investment into Ireland and fostered a spirit of innovation which has allowed indigenous industry to grow. All of these factors, coupled with Ireland’s commitment to the principles of free trade and the determined hard work of the Irish people, have come together to create the unprecedented economic success we know today.
The profound changes that have been taking place in the political landscape and in the economy have been accompanied by an equally dramatic degree of social and cultural transformation. Increased immigration is making Irish society ever more diverse. A galaxy of new talent continues to emerge in a range of areas from new technology to rock music and film. Above all, there is a fresh mood of optimism and excitement. Each day brings a whole range of new opportunities and there is a common sense of energy and purpose in availing of them to the utmost. As many of you here know, and as we are keenly aware, it was not always so in Ireland. This is indeed a time of great good fortune, and we are determined to ensure that the benefits are enjoyed by many generations to come.
Today, I have been talking about change. Amidst all this change, there are of course many constants, and one of these is the importance of our relationship with the United States, which remains of enormous significance. The support and encouragement of our friends here has been invaluable in getting us this far, and we look forward to having you with us on our new and more hopeful journey in the future.
I know, Mr Mayor, that you are considering leading a business delegation to Ireland in the near future. We greatly look forward to your visit and indeed to many visits from all our friends, new and old, in Texas. We look forward also to further opportunities to develop our economic ties and, most importantly, our friendship. I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet many new friends here in this very proud state of Texas, and I urge you all to come to Ireland and experience for yourselves the warm welcome of the Irish people. Just as I came to Dallas as a stranger and leave as a friend I know the same gift of friendship waits for you in Ireland.
Thank you