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ADDRESS BY MARY ROBINSON AT THE BREAKFAST HOSTED BY THE QUEENSLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BRISBANE

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY ROBINSON, ON WEDNESDAY, 28 OCTOBER, 1992.

Is mór an chúis áthais dom é bheith anseo i gcathair álainn Brisbane chun labhairt libh inniu.  Táim fíorbhuíoch díbh as an bhfáilte lách, líonmhar a chuir sibh romham ar theacht anseo dom.

 

I am delighted to be here in this beautiful city of Brisbane to speak to the Queensland Chamber of Commerce this morning.  The "Sunshine State" of Queensland has always been the most Irish state in Australia.  That is why I began my speech in Irish, a language once widely spoken here.  Indeed your town of Inisfail, or INIS FÅIL in Irish, is a poetic name for Ireland, meaning "Isle of Destiny".

 

I very much appreciate your interest in Ireland which has prompted your presence here this morning and I greatly welcome the opportunity to speak about Ireland to such an influential gathering. 

 

Economic conditions in Ireland have changed dramatically in recent years.  GDP growth has averaged more than 5% a year over the past five years.  Last year it was 3.5%, and this year it was forecast to be about 3.6% - not bad in the context of a difficult international economic climate and when so many other economies are in recession!  Inflation at 2.8% in the year to August last is one of the lowest rates in the European Community, or in the world for that matter; and Exchequer borrowing will be just over 2% of GNP this year.  

 

However, due to the rapid growth in our labour force, unemployment has remained our major economic problem even though, in the 3 years to April 1990, the number of people at work in Ireland increased by 46,000, and this at a time of substantial reductions in public sector employment.  It will be no surprise to you, therefore, that reduction in the number unemployed is the cornerstone of our economic policy.  

 

To achieve this objective IDA Ireland, the Industrial Development Authority, is being charged, as an autonomous organisation, with promoting job creation through industrial development and the attraction of overseas investment to Ireland.  IDA Ireland will continue to be a one stop shop for companies or entrepreneurs, offering financial incentives, site selection and the promotion of joint ventures and technology transfers.

 

Ireland offers a particularly attractive incentive package to investors, including very favourable rates of corporate tax, a comprehensive system of grants and guaranteed repatriation of profits which have encouraged many overseas companies to locate in Ireland.

 

These incentives have combined to make Ireland the most profitable location in Europe.  US Department of Commerce statistics have shown Ireland consistently yielding the highest return on investment.  It is for this reason that there are now over 1,000 overseas-owned companies in Ireland, from the US, Britain, Germany, Japan and, of course, Australia.  Further advantages are conferred by our young, well-educated, computer-literate workforce;  excellent telecommunications;  high productivity;  stable currency, developed industrial infrastructure and access to a European market of 345 million consumers.  With the entry into force of the Single European Market on 1 January 1993, Ireland can provide the ideal base to exploit the opportunities offered by the world's largest market.

 

Many Australian investors have already availed of these advantages.  There are now 13 Australian companies in Ireland, employing over 850 people.  These include Beamish and Crawfords brewery, owned by Elders and National Irish Bank whose parent is National Australia Bank.  It is my pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all Australian enterprises who intend to invest in Ireland and I am glad that many of the larger Irish companies have reciprocated by investing in Australia:  Fitzwilton, Allied Irish Banks, Waterford/Wedgwood Ltd., Masstock, Coolmore Stud and several mining companies.

 

IDA Ireland has responsibility for marketing Dublin's International Financial Services Centre.  Over 130 companies are already trading there, including many major banks and financial institutions from Japan, Germany and the United States.  We are confident that the Financial Services Centre will continue to grow and prosper in the areas of international banking, treasury management, fund management and insurance.  To date three Australian companies have decided to locate at the Centre and we are confident that their experience will help to persuade other Australian enterprises of the special advantages attaching to operations in Dublin and the Centre.

 

Firm adherence to budgetary discipline has played a major part in Irish economic progress in recent years.  In recent years, we in Ireland have been able to maintain a stable exchange rate policy and a low inflation economy with significantly reduced interest rates.  This leaves Ireland well placed to bear the further disciplines required for the proposed European Economic and Monetary Union and to exploit the advantages which will be presented.  We have succeeded in establishing a virtuous circle whereby strong growth, low inflation, improved competitiveness and investor confidence mutually support and reinforce each other.  

 

I can assure you of a very friendly welcome if you come to Ireland, a welcome matched only by that which you have so generously given to me on my arrival in Brisbane.  It is a very great pleasure for me to be here in Queensland and it is my earnest hope that my visit will serve to renew and strengthen the ties of friendship and kinship which unite our two countries despite the geographical distance, and I stress geographical, because in everything but geography I feel we are already close, as we always have been.