“IRELAND - POISED FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY”
"IRELAND - POISED FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY" ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY ROBINSON, TO THE HOUSTON FORUM
It is a pleasure to be here and I would like to thank the Houston Forum for the opportunity of talking to you today.
In visiting the United States and particularly its great modern cities, I am always struck by the distinctive skyline of office blocks and skyscrapers that presents itself on approach and which constitute the heart of the city, its commercial and business centre. This profile is all but an American signature, instantly recognisable as symbolic of American economic prowess. Like a great bar chart of steel and concrete, we can read in the skyline the story of economic growth and development in the twentieth century.
Houston, perhaps more than most, testifies to that dramatic social and economic surge which has shaped us and the world in which we live. From a small town at the turn of the century, Houston has become one of the largest American cities, a concentrated nexus of industrialisation, manufacturing, distribution, financial services and urban growth. The unprecedented acceleration of technical progress and innovation which we have witnessed this century has brought us from the horse and cart to, literally, the moon in the mere span of a life. We can see that story in the history of Houston.
Perhaps more than anywhere, here in the home of the headquarters of the U.S. manned space flight programme, we can see the economic miracle of the twentieth century. When I visited NASA Headquarters at the Johnson Space Centre this morning I was particularly struck by the pioneering accomplishments of the space programme. The story of the exploration of space, which was largely written here in Houston, is also the story of your great nation - a story of imagination and daring, of enterprise and innovation. The legacy of the space programme is felt today in the quantum leaps of knowledge that have revolutionised the sciences and in the countless practical applications that now play a pivitol role in almost every part of our daily lives.
As we approach the end of this century and the closing of the millennium, we anticipate the coming one. If our rate of development continues and indeed accelerates, the next century will be an all but unimaginable world of possibilities. It is certainly a world in which technical progress will continue to affect all our lives in myriad ways, the way we do business, for example, or receive news and information, or travel, educate our children, or work. How we face this future, with confidence and certainty, or with diffidence and confusion, will determine how successful we will be in meeting the challenges and promises of tomorrow.
To those of you familiar with common images of Ireland, it may seem strange to propose to talk to you about Ireland, poised for the twenty-first century with all its inherent possibilities. Those images of Ireland are drawn, often accurately and invariably beautifully, from the remnants of the past. It is an Ireland of stone walls, of old and crumbling castles in the mellow light of evening, of great old houses in green pastures, of pagan stones and thatched cottages. What place, one might ask, can a country such as this find in the next century? What role can it play in co-operation with business communities here in Houston, for example, in future economic growth?
The answer lies in the paradox of modern Ireland. The received images of Ireland are accurate. You will go there and find them in the highways and byways. The success of our tourist industry is based on the fact that visitors' expectations are more than matched by what they find. Ireland is green, its landscapes spectacularly beautiful, our people hospitable and friendly. Our rich and often turbulent past has left its mark on our landscape, from castle ruins to great houses to thatched cottages and stone walls. Irish culture, particularly in music, literature and drama, is pervasive and enjoying a vitality that the visitor will find all but inescapable.
But this is a partial image. Ireland is also very much a modern economy whose growth is fuelled by a young population, a commitment to competitiveness, economic integration with Europe and openness in world trade. Indeed, industrialisation in Ireland began in earnest only in the 1960s when mobile international capital facilitated the establishment of overseas operations to augment our emerging domestic industrial base. In a very real sense, our economic policies and incentives have been refined and honed to increase international investment in Ireland. Aware therefore that we must secure our place in the international economy if we are to further our economic development, Ireland is deeply committed to mobilising its resources to face the challenges ahead. In a very real sense, we are planning for challenges that lie ahead as we pass the threshold into the twenty-first century.
Part of that preparation has been our commitment to attracting hi-tech growth orientated companies to establish in Ireland to augment indigenous industrial development. To date, more than a thousand firms have established operations there, employing some 100,000 of our young and highly educated workforce. Of these, some 400 are U.S. companies who have located in Ireland as the gateway to the vast European market. In fact, Ireland captures one fifth of all mobile American green field investments going into Europe, a remarkable achievement for a country with only 1 per cent of the European Union's population. The statistics provide 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 U.S. Department of Commerce. We welcome inward investment as a dynamic ingredient in our current economic success and our plans for steady and sustained growth into the next century. And I would emphasise that these companies are not just creating welcome high-tech jobs in Ireland, but, through being able to penetrate and take full advantage of the European market, they are actively sustaining and creating jobs here in the U.S. also - a classical "win-win" situation.
The benefits of doing business in Ireland are, I know, well understood here in Texas and business links between Texas and Ireland have been especially strong in the field of petroleum exploration and production. For example, the Irish oil and gas exploration company, Aran Energy Plc., has operations in Texas/Lousiana and an office here in Houston. In turn, ARCO and Texas Union hold Irish offshore petroleum authorisations.
But, of course, the longest and deepest links have resulted from the involvement of Marathon, who since the 1960s have led the way in the search for petroleum in the Irish land and sea area. Their success in bringing natural gas ashore in Kinsale in 1978 provided a tremendous boost to the Irish economy and gas from the facility is now used extensively throughout Ireland. We greatly value the presence of all three companies and of the many other firms who have invested in Ireland. Their involvement constitutes a vote of confidence in Ireland and in the excellent and profitable business opportunities that exist there.
Not only do we have a young population but we have an emigrant population which would and indeed does return when employment opportunities arise. Our current unemployment rate of 14% sets a target for amelioration which drives our efforts for inward investment and steady, sustainable economic growth. We remain profoundly committed to the reduction and elimination of barriers to trade both within the European Union and in the world generally. Only that can sustain the international prosperity on which we all, ultimately, depend.
Our plentiful supply of labour, has not meant that we have based our economic success on 'cheap labour' policy. On the contrary, we have invested heavily in the education of our youth, spending a large proportion of our GNP on education and training. Indeed, our young, high quality and plentiful labour force is Ireland's unique asset and the primary reason why so many U.S. companies establish operations in our country.
We have also developed an International Financial Services Centre in the heart of Dublin city which offers a range of banking, insurance and corporate in-house financial services which are not only competitive by any European standard but which are backed by the most up-to-date, state of the art, telecommunications system. To date, approximately 200 companies have established operations there. Again, our establishment of the Financial Services Centre is a recognition of the fact that mobile international capital will remain a prime feature of the global economy and that, to remain competitive, an economy must provide all the tools - indigenous financial services included - required by dynamic companies to respond to changing market demands.
By its nature then, Irish economic policy has been defined by its expert orientation and its commitment to free trade and capital mobility. For despite our relatively small size, the Irish economy and its continuing vitality depend very much on the furthering of the expansion and liberalisation of world trade and capital. The figures speak for themselves. Almost three quarters of our GNP is based on exports and some 60 per cent on imports. Last year, we enjoyed a growth rate of 10% in our merchandise exports.
Government policy has been designed to secure a financial climate in Ireland which will help underpin and ensure successful commercial operations. A rigorous financial policy has ensured one of the lowest prevailing inflation rates in the European Union, steady at significantly less than 3%. Add to that a corporation tax of only 10%, an adaptable and educated workforce, modern infrastructure and state of the art telecommunications, access to the European market of some 370 million people, generous government support packages and competitive operating costs and you can appreciate why Ireland is the most profitable location for overseas investment in Europe.
Our financial rectitude is paying economic dividends. Our low inflation rate has allowed us to maintain favourable interest rates, a stable exchange rate and a sound currency. So impressive has been our financial policy that Ireland is on track as one of the core members of the European Monetary Union planned to come into effect before the end of the Century. That is a testament to the rigor with which we have pursued financial rectitude. We are achieving a record trade surplus, while our projected growth rate per annum up to the year 2000, at 5% to 5½%, is one of the highest in the OECD.
The fact of our membership of the European Community since 1973 has been a predominant factor in our recent economic history. It has allowed us to greatly enhance the development of our infrastructure. Over the last five years particularly, with the move toward greater economic cohesion, substantial investment by the European Union has helped us increase our transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructure, this increase in our productive infrastructure will continue until the close of the century.
Much as Texas is a natural gateway into Mexico and South America, so Ireland is a logical bridgehead for U.S. companies wishing to exploit the vast single European market, where it is now as easy to sell from Dublin to Dusseldorf as it is from Houston to Harrisburg. Indeed our economic relationship with the United State is a natural corollary to the kinship which unites our people, a kinship based on the impact the Irish, and in turn some 40 million Irish Americans, have had here. That bond was deepened in recent years by our shared concern to resolve the problem of Northern Ireland. It has been a great joy to Irish people everywhere that Northern Ireland now enjoys peace and real prospects for political progress. The Unites States has played an enormously helpful and encouraging role in the peace process.
Peace in Northern Ireland will be bolstered by economic growth, a fact not lost on our friends here in the United States who for so long have contributed to programmes in Ireland promoting peace and reconciliation. The White House Conference for Trade and Investment in Ireland which President Clinton is hosting in Washington later this week is a unique, not to say historic, event which unites Irish businesspeople, politicians and officials, North and South, in the common purpose of promoting economic growth and helping to realise the peace dividend. That Conference and all its follow-on activities offer ongoing hope and encouragement that peace will allow Ireland, North and South, to realise its true economic potential.
We have our two images, then, of Ireland. One is a welcome to the visitor, seeking a taste of the 'old country', a flavour of our past history, our enduring culture and Gaelic hospitality. The other is a welcome to the U.S. entrepreneur and investor who sees the opportunities proffered by doing business in Europe from the most competitive and successful location there.
We in Ireland seek to hold these things in balance, to accommodate the possibilities of the future and the assets from the past with which we are blessed.
That is Ireland poised for the twenty-first century. It is the Ireland to which I extend an invitation and a welcome to you all.
Thank you.