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St Patrick’s Day 2007
ICCUSA Breakfast, 16 March
Draft remarks
A chairde ICCUSA, is mór an onóir dom beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig a ghuí ar gach duine agaibh anseo tráthnóna. Is tá an-áthas orm féin agus mo bhean chéile, Áine, a bheith i bhur gcuideachta anseo in Atlanta. Mo bhuíochas le Kevin Conboy as ucht an chuiridh béile a chaitheamh libh
My wife, Anne, and I are indeed very delighted to have this opportunity to address the Atlanta Chapter of the Irish Chamber of Commerce in the USA (ICCUSA) and I am grateful to your President, Kevin Conboy for his kind invitation.
During my visits to the US, I never cease to be impressed by the obvious pride and confidence of Irish-Americans in their Irish ancestry.
I believe that St. Patrick’s Day brings our two great nations together. The bonds of kin and culture every bit as much as bonds of commerce and economy, are bonds that never seem to fade or to be diminished by the passage of time.
The relation between Ireland and the United States of America is constantly changing and improving. America has always been the refuge of Irish emigrants in the darkest hours of our history. I’m sure many of you here present can trace your roots to Irish ancestors who came during the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s. Or your ancestors may have come twenty years ago when we were crippled by debt and deeply depressed by a downward economic maelstrom.
Much of the origins of the longest established elements of the Irish community in Georgia came from my own province of Ulster to the Southern United States. Many of these were imbued with Wolf Tone’s vision of an equal Ireland for Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter. I salute the tremendous contribution they made to the independence of the United States of America. And I am delighted that on the island of Ireland we can now recognise the complex and diverse identities of modern Ireland.
Mass unemployment meant over many decades Irish people have travelled to all four corners of the world. They have built new lives and communities and, most importantly, they have forged new friendships.
I am sure you are all aware the number of Irish coming to the US has dropped very significantly in the last decade. The Celtic Tiger has meant we can give an opportunity to this generation a chance lost to mine. The chance to to live and thrive in Ireland.
But there are still tens of thousands of Irishmen and Irish women who cannot fully benefit from their lives in America. The Government of Ireland is concerned about our citizens who are undocumented and find themselves living in a very precarious and uncertain state. These Irish people want to work and pay their dues just as you do now and your ancestors have done in this great country that gave them refuge. They want to raise their families and run their businesses in full conformity with the law and enjoy the full protection of the law and the support of their communities. We hope that a path may be found to enable these people to legalise their status in the USA so that they can participate fully in life here.
But the relationship between Ireland and America is changing. For the first time in the history of Ireland, there are now more Irish returning home than Irish arriving in the US. There are even many young Americans, particularly those who also hold Irish citizenship, eager to learn of employment and further education opportunities in Ireland.
In a very short period of years, Ireland has gone from being a land of emigration to a land of immigration. Modern Ireland’s population is made up of people from all over the world. Over 300,000 foreign workers have secured Irish social security numbers since 2004. Thousand of migrants from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have come to Ireland to find work and a better future for their families. Just like the Irish who came this country.
Ireland is now multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual. Children whose parents grew up in one of the Baltic States play Gaelic games, soccer and basketball with their Irish friends. They learn English and Irish in our elementary schools.
Even in our national games such as hurling, the scene has changed. In 2005, the captain of the County Cork winning All-Ireland hurling team, born of a mother from Fiji, gave his victory speech in the most beautiful tones of my own native tongue, the Irish language.
The momentous rugby game between Ireland and England at Croke Park was yet another sign of this new and exciting era. Twenty, or even ten years ago, who would have predicted such an event
I know that many of you have a deep interest in and strong commitment to the consolidation of peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.
We have come a long way along the road to a sustainable peace in Northern Ireland. We have shown that by working together, we can solve even the most difficult problems. We have proven that peace and democracy can triumph over violence.
We looked to our friends around the world for help. And they have been unswerving in their support. We could not have come this far without strong US friendship and support.
The support of successive Administrations, both sides of the aisle in Congress and the Irish-American community has always been warmly appreciated by the Irish people. That support will continue to be important as we seek to achieve restoration of the institutions and a durable power-sharing government.
The Good Friday Agreement was a milestone in Irish history. It created a blueprint for an equal society in Northern Ireland. Within the last decade, the effect of the Agreement has been to transform the quality of daily life for people in both communities. Without a doubt, Northern Ireland is a better place today for all its citizens.
But there is no substitute for locally elected politicians working in a partnership government for the benefit of the people they represent. And the Government’s highest priority now is to restore the power-sharing institutions provided for in the Agreement.
The people of Northern Ireland went to the polls on 7 March to elect a viable power-sharing administration. Their political representatives owe it to them now, in these crucial weeks, to grasp the opportunity to deliver on that mandate. Compromise, courage and leadership will be required from all sides.
It is especially incumbent now on the DUP to deliver on the Saint Andrews commitment to power-sharing.
For our part, the Government will spare no effort to bring the St. Andrews Agreement to fruition. We want to see durable power-sharing Government in Northern Ireland and we want to work side by side with a Northern Ireland Executive for the benefit of all of the people on the island of Ireland.
Peace and prosperity go hand in hand. The Government is committed to advancing North/South co-operation to secure economic success and a better future for all the people of the island of Ireland.
We have found that there is much that we can do together on the island that is of real and practical benefit to people living both North and South.
We have, for example, an ambitious agenda for strengthening all-island economic co-operation. We are working together to develop a world-class, integrated and efficient infrastructure on the island.
The Government is committed to strengthening co-operation for the benefit of all citizens on the island, including the entire community in Northern Ireland.
The Government looks forward to being soon able to meet with a restored Northern Ireland Executive and further develop North/South co-operation for mutual and tangible benefit.
I am particularly pleased to hear of Governor Sunny Perdue’s strong interest in Ireland and I look forward to increasing co-operation between this great State and Ireland, North and South. I can assure him and any of you who wish to come visit Ireland to see how we can intensify our economic cooperation the warmest of Céad Míle Fáilte (A 100,000 Welcomes). In particular, we look forward to reinforcing and building on the links already forged between Georgia Tech and Athlone.
I also wish to acknowledge the huge importance of Coca Cola to the city of Atlanta. I am aware of the the huge economic and philanthropic contribution Coca Cola makes to the beautiful city of Atlanta. I must at least in part attribute its great success to the great Irishmen such as Don Keough, Neville Isdell and Irial Finan who have so expertly managed its economic progress!
I know ICCUSA members have particular interest in about Ireland’s economy The current outlook for the Irish economy remains bright with growth of up to five per cent a year expected until the end of the decade.
We have seen several years of double-digit GDP growth since the 1990s, driven by a progressive industrial policy that boosted large-scale foreign direct investment and exports.
Unemployment fell from 4.4 to 4.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2006. Unemployment levels have been reduced by two-thirds in the last decade. The Irish labour force now stands at 2.1 million up from 1.6 million in 1998.
The role of US companies in Ireland’s economic turn-around has been colossal and deeply appreciated by the Government and people of Ireland. This role is as important today as it ever was. Indeed, your investment in Ireland will be a vital element of our success going forward.
Of course, this is no longer all one way traffic! While American investment in Ireland sustains 90,000 jobs, Irish investment in the US sustains over 74,000. Irish investment in the US, which totalled US$2.48 billion in 2006, is more recent and growing faster.
Ireland has done well in recent years but we are not resting on our economic laurels. We know to maintain our competitive global position we need to invest more in Science, Technology and Innovation. In our new strategic plan, we plan to spend €3.8 billion on science, technology and innovation. This investment will help double our output of PhDs and create a sustainable path for researchers. We are anxious to secure US involvement in these efforts. We are delighted that Georgia Tech has led the way with its investment in a research centre in Athlone in Ireland’s midlands.
Mr President, I hope that my remarks have given you a sense of Ireland in the 21st century and how we see our economy developing in the future.
In conclusion let me reiterate our view that the Atlanta Chapter of ICCUSA is invaluable asset in our efforts to maintain our competitive position. I wish you every success in your continued endeavours to deepen Atlanta’s commercial relationship with Ireland.
Thank you, Slán agus beannacht.
ENDS
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