THE OCCASION OF THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE PORTUGUESE-IRISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
SPEAKING NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT, MARY ROBINSON, ON 7 DECEMBER, 1993
- I am delighted to have been invited here this evening to address the Portuguese-Irish Chamber of Commerce on the occasion of its annual dinner.
- Portugal has a particular significance for me as it was the first country to which I undertook a State Visit following my Inauguration as President in December 1990. My visit to Portugal was quickly followed by the visit of President Soares to Ireland in June of this year - the first State Visit by a President of Portugal to Ireland.
- Not far from Lisbon, there is a spot called Cabo da Roca - the Cape of the Rock - which looks out on the great empty fields of the Atlantic. At this spot, carved in stone, there is a verse by Camoes:-
"... aqui onda a terra acaba
e o mar começa..."
"... here where the earth ceases and the sea begins..."
- This position at the rim of Europe, facing the Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean, does much to explain the history both of Portugal and Ireland.
- The establishment of the Ireland Portugal Chamber of Commerce is just one of many welcome developments in Irish-Portuguese relations in recent times.
- In May 1991 the Irish Parliamentary Association reciprocated the gesture of its Portuguese counterpart by setting up an Irish-Portuguese Parliamentary Friendship Group with the aim of establishing closer links between our two Parliaments.
- On the cultural front there is now a formal intergovernmental agreement in place and this framework is providing greater opportunities for cultural exchanges.
- These developments would bring gladness to those who have kept Irish-Portuguese relations alive over many centuries.
- Irish emigrants found their way to Portugal and were associated with Lisbon landmarks such as the Church of Corpo Santo and the former Collegio de San Patricio. O'Neill, Sarsfield, MacCarthy, Horgan, Kennedy are now names of Portuguese families.
- I would love to encounter Dominic O'Daly, of a Kerry family, who served as Portuguese Ambassador in Paris at the Court of Louis XIV. Or the soldier Thadeo O'Daly who in 1714 was the subject of the following advantageous decision by
King Joao V:
"It is my will and pleasure that Dom Thadeo O'Daly should be attached to a cavalry regiment as Supernumerary Colonel and should receive from this date the highest pay of the rank ...".
- The informal contacts and natural affinity that characterised our relationship over several centuries took on new meaning when Portugal joined the European Community in 1986.
- Portugal's membership of the Community has bound our two countries ever closer together. This new closeness has led to significant developments in our economic relations with Portugal in recent years. Trade has been expanding rapidly, over a wide range of products.
- Portugal has become an increasingly popular holiday destination for Irish people. The Algarve has joined a small number of foreign holiday destinations that have become household names because of their popularity. We would welcome an increase in the number of visitors from Portugal.
- I am sure that the efforts of your Chamber have contributed to the development of economic relations between the two countries. I understand that you organised a successful trade mission to Portugal last year. Chambers of Commerce like yours have the great merit of combining business with the development of personal relationships with counterparts elsewhere. The importance of such relationships to developing increased understanding between countries should not be underestimated.
- Irish and Portuguese companies have similar experience in overcoming the difficulties associated with geographical isolation and economically powerful neighbours.
- These similarities present opportunities for industrial cooperation, and I welcome the initiatives which have already taken place in this area. Cooperation between Irish and Portuguese companies already exists in many areas such as public utilities and agriculture.
- Within the European Union Ireland and Portugal share the challenges presented by our respective geographic location and size. We are both beneficiaries of transfers from the richer countries of the Community but we are aware that we must also rely on ourselves. We are using our recent allocations from the structural and cohesion funds to develop our infrastructure and participate in the European Union economy on an equal basis with our partners.
- We have a concern that, as it enlarges, the Community's institutional balance should not be altered in such a way as to put the smaller member states at a disadvantage. Harmony between the smaller states and the bigger countries is an intrinsic part of the European Union's objectives.
- It is important that the individual economic policies of the European Union should be understood in their proper context as a way towards addressing the real needs of citizens. The level of unemployment in both our countries has given a new urgency to this task. One of the major tasks facing all of us is to ensure, through the motivation and participation of individuals, that this tide is turned - that the sense of powerlessness in the face of certain economic trends is dissipated.
- The Irish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, together with other similar organisations in both our counties, has a vital role to play in this respect.
- As you pursue this work in our common interest, I hope you will take strength from the deep affinity between Irish and Portuguese traditions.
- I believe that for Ireland, our relationship to cultures beyond our own borders is an important aspect of discovering our Irish and European identity. This is equally true for Portugal.
- Both in Ireland and Portugal, we have the gift of seeing the events of life - our practical struggles - as chapters in a story. Both of us bring a certain spirit to bear - a spirit, I hope, of enterprise, as illustrated by that great King of Portugal, Joao II, who in 1488 decreed that the Cape of Storms should be renamed the Cape of Good Hope.
- I salute the Irish Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and wish you continued success for the future.