ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY ROBINSON AT THE FEDERERAL RESERVE BANK DINNER IN ATLANTA
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY ROBINSON AT THE FEDERERAL RESERVE BANK DINNER IN ATLANTA, TUESDAY, 25TH OCTOBER, 1994.
When I was elected President of Ireland in November 1990, I was very conscious that I was representing a new, emergent Ireland. Indeed, the Office of the President is the only position decided directly by the entire Irish electorate and, as such, can serve as a barometer for different sentiments than those allowed for in the normal run of political life. I had a powerful sense at the time of my election that Ireland was not only undergoing profound changes but that the public was very supportive of those changes and was actively moulding what that new Ireland ought to be. And since then my experience as President has only confirmed those early impressions.
The characteristics of this new Ireland have emerged recently with considerable force. There is a commitment to a more open, pluralistic society. The tradition of volunteerism, which has a long and noble lineage in Ireland, has been invigorated by a greater commitment to one's local community, particularly in the area of job creation and business promotion. And there is a tremendous surge in creative energy which has spilled over into all areas of public life. We can see it particularly in the arts where Irish writing, drama, the visual arts and, significantly, Irish film, have undergone a renaissance. There is, to use that wonderfully onomatopoeic word, a "buzz" in Ireland.
I think you know what I mean because I have found a similar sense of vigour and optimism here in Atlanta. I have seen the statistics, economic and otherwise, which testify to Atlanta's phenomenal development in recent years, and to the city's plans for the future. But even without the figures, the most casual visitor could not fail to notice that sense of excitement in Atlanta, that sense of purpose, matched by current success and hope for the future.
The boom in Atlanta's economic performance, led by high technology and telecommunications, could not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the financial institutions. Maintaining low inflation, favourable interest rates, monetary stability and credit availability provide the essential foundation for commercial confidence and success
In Ireland, we too are very conscious of the need to have a comprehensive approach to encouraging a growth oriented business environment. As a result, our Government agencies are geared to offer one of the most attractive incentive packages in Europe for inward investment.
And our economic statistics, apart regrettably from our unemployment rate, are especially sound. At two and a half per cent, for example, our inflation rate is one of the lowest in the European Union. This has helped us to maintain favourable interest rates, a stable exchange rate and a soundness in our currency. Indeed, so impressive has been our financial management that Ireland is on track as one of the core members of the European Monetary Union.
Last year, Ireland had a record trade surplus. We have a projected growth rate per annum up to the year 2000 of 5%, one of the highest in the OECD. All this has resulted in the Irish economy recently being described by a Morgan Stanley analyst as a "Celtic tiger"!
At the heart of our Government's efforts to attract inward investment, lies a corporation tax of only 10%. But beyond that there are factors which no other European destination can offer. Our population is one of the youngest and best educated on the continent. In this new era of high-technology and telecommunications, leading businesses are more and more attracted by human rather that material resources as a prime incentive for the location of their overseas investments.
An enthusiastic workforce, articulate and well educated, and with a facility for the demands of high tech manufacturing, can be the determining factor in a successful operation. The Irish workforce offers all of these qualities in full measure and has the track record to prove it.
And for those of you who have not been in Ireland yet, you will find that there is a familiarity to our country. This will have something to do with our Gaelic hospitality. But there are also deeper reasons. In subtle and profound ways, over the centuries the links between Ireland and America have been intimately woven. It is rare to find someone who does not have a relative living and working here in the United States. And I imagine that many of you here tonight can say that an Irish relative lies somewhere in your ancestry. It is a badge of pride worn by many an executive in corporate America.
If America has profoundly influenced Western culture, including that of Ireland, Ireland has contributed profoundly to the development of America itself. The significance of over 40 million Irish Americans has been heightened by their vitality and energy in American politics, business and the arts. In fact, I understand that one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parades happens close by here, in Savannah.
Four hundred US firms have seen the advantages of Ireland as a gateway to Europe and their operations have flourished. In fact, Ireland captures one fifth of all mobile American greenfield investments going into Europe - a remarkable achievement for a country with only one per cent of the European Union's population. The record provides the clearest explanation; return on investment in Ireland is one of the highest in the European Union - four times the European average according to the US Department of Commerce. Indeed, this summer alone saw the announcement by eighteen major international corporations, from Singapore to the US and Holland, of plans for expansion or new greenfield investments in Ireland.
The lesson has not been lost on corporations from Georgia where some of your leading companies have established operations in Ireland to access the European Union's market. That market, of some 340 million people, is now one of the most powerful and productive. Along with the US and the Pacific Basin, the European trading bloc is driving global economic growth.
In Ireland also, our native industrialists and entrepreneurs have sought business opportunities abroad, particularly in Europe and the US. Here in the Atlanta area, seven Irish companies have established their US bases. Thanks to Delta airlines and the direct link it provides between Atlanta and Ireland, we can expect that commercial relations between this region and Ireland will continue to grow and develop.
But like the experience of Atlanta itself, the figures for economic success and investment potential cannot convey that sense of excitement that is at the heart of business success. Its foundation is a confidence in the future, a sureness of one's vision about that future and one's place in it. That is the essence of the new Ireland.
I could not speak to you this evening without mentioning a development in Ireland of enormous, indeed historic significance of which I am sure you are all aware. With the cessation of paramilitary violence relations on our island now have the opportunity to move to a new, more hopeful plane. Differences can be aired and dealt with through the political process rather than remaining entrenched behind walls of hostility and mistrust. The people of both communities, and both traditions in Ireland, will be able to deal with each other according to their real concerns - concerns about the quality of life, the need for change, and hope for better futures for themselves and their children. The leaders of both communities in Northern Ireland can guide their actions by the light of the future, not the fading monuments of the past.
We in Ireland have been separated from peace and reconciliation by twenty five years of violence. That is an ocean in time. As Eavan Boland, one of our leading poets, has written,
Frail compasses and trenchant constellations
Brought us as far as this,
And now air and water, fire and earth
Stand at their given stations
Out there, and are ready to replace
This single desperate width
Of ocean.
Our compasses are less frail in Ireland now. We are moulding our vision of the new Ireland, an Ireland confident, creative and committed to the ideals of pluralism, fairness and peace. It is an exciting time, a time for change, for development and for growth. A time for peace for reconciliation.
Thank you.