“THE NEW IRELAND”
"THE NEW IRELAND" SPEAKING NOTES FOR PRESIDENT ROBINSON AT BREAKFAST IN CITY HALL, DALLAS, 23RD MAY 1995
Thank you, Mr. Mayor and the Dallas Committee of the Council of Foreign Relations for hosting this breakfast this morning.
- This forum provides me with an opportunity to speak to you of the new Ireland, an Ireland that is undergoing profound change. And that change is informed with tremendous optimism, faith and vitality. It is the kind of spirit with which Texans are familiar - pride in one's identity, certainty of purpose, and inspiration in the face of a challenging new frontier.
- For peace in Ireland has opened a new frontier for us. For twenty-five years, violence, bitterness and division rent the fabric of Northern Irish society. Throughout those years, many community activists, political leaders and the Irish and British Governments endeavoured to find an agreed route forward to a new and peaceful Ireland. The nature of the political settlement was not defined and indeed it has yet to be defined. But the underlying principles were clear - a commitment to the political process of dialogue and negotiation, a recognition that both the nationalist and unionist traditions have equal claims as part of Ireland's heritage and identity, and an unyielding belief that only by peaceful agreement could a lasting and fair settlement is reached.
- It was then with great relief and joy that the shadow of violence was lifted from Northern Ireland when the cease-fires by nationalist and loyalist paramilitaries came into effect last Autumn. Now, some nine months later, there is a growing confidence with everyday life returning to normal, that violence and the threat of violence has been consigned to the past. We can now begin to explore the possibilities of the new peace, to reaffirm, indeed to initiate, contacts and dialogue between the communities within Northern Ireland and between the North and South. The barrier erected by violence between the nationalist and unionist communities has fallen and a new frontier of possibilities has opened up.
- The arrival of peace in Ireland is a signal event, separating the tragedy of the immediate past from the brighter new reality of Ireland today. We are seeking to ensure that we realise the potential of peace, to match our expectations of what the future can bring and what it will actually deliver. In that, we are building on the progress we have made in recent years.
- The engine of change in Ireland has been economic growth and development. From a largely agricultural country with a very small industrial base in the 1950s, we faced an economic frontier in the 1960s and have now emerged as a favoured location for international investment by leading corporations in Europe, Asia and the United States. Of the 1,000 foreign owned companies operating in Ireland today, employing some 100,000 of your young and highly educated workforce, more than 400 are from the United States. These firms have seen in Ireland an ideal location from which to expand their share of the vast European market. And, together they have helped shape Ireland as a high-tech, competitive and export orientated economy whose fiscal and monetary policies are designed to further international investment there.
- We believe that peace in Northern Ireland has dramatically improved economic opportunities in both parts of the island. America has played a vital political role in encouraging the peace. But America has also played a vital economic role by furthering economic growth through business investment, support of the International Fund for Ireland and through the efforts of myriad Irish-American individuals and organisations. For economic growth is a key ingredient in inspiring hope and confidence in the future, especially in a future which is free from the shadow of violence.
- To help in the process of reconciliation through business opportunities and to recognise the new Ireland, President Clinton is hosting a White House Conference on Trade and Investment in Ireland in Washington this week. It is a unique bringing together of leading American and Irish businesspeople to explore the potential for greenfield and joint venture partnerships in Ireland. In its emphasis on business and investment, the Conference rightly platforms Ireland as an overseas location to be chosen as an ideal and highly competitive business bridgehead into Europe - indeed much as you have been successfully marketing Dallas as a natural gateway to Mexico and South America.
- Mr. Mayor, I know that your most successful term of office is coming to a close. During your tenure in City Hall, the economy of Dallas expanded at an unparalleled pace, and the city earned a well-deserved international reputation for its determination to develop business links and alliances throughout the world. You can be justly proud of your thriving and dynamic city, with its harmonious community relations. In expressing appreciation and good wishes to you, I should also like to wish every success to your successor, Mr. Kirk, and to hope that during the period of his office relations between Ireland and Dallas will continue to grow and develop.