Mary Lou McDonald TD
Uachtarán Shinn Féin (President of Sinn Féin)
The friendship between Ireland and the United States has proven to be critically important in the past. This special connection was pivotal in the success of the peace process and the achievement of the historic Good Friday Agreement. It was crucial during the Brexit negotiations in ensuring there was no hard border on the island of Ireland. It was crucial too in the economic transformation of our country.
Today the Irish economy has much to celebrate. We have a track record in securing investment and as a location for successful multinational companies. We have a young population and a talented, agile, highly educated workforce. We enjoy a culture of innovation and development, together with high productivity across many sectors.
Our economy is one driven by FDI but also by strong domestic performance. For many international partners Ireland is the bridge to the European market and system, something evidenced by the impressive number of US companies that choose to base your European Headquarters here.
The all-Ireland economy is flourishing. The role of Joe Kennedy as Economic Envoy to the North set out the potential for growth in US investment over the next decade given its access to the Single Market and the British market. The recent restoration of the power sharing government in the North builds added momentum for political progress and economic success.
Ireland as a country stands on the cusp of real change and immense opportunity. In any society change is necessary for progress and for innovation. It is how we continue to adapt, to strive forward and meet the world’s challenges together.
We are going through a period of rapid economic and global transformation, and we need to be able to adapt, to take decisions and to be nimble and create an environment for progress.
Over the last year Pearse Doherty, our Finance Spokesperson, and I have led a new conversation with businesses the length and breadth of this island, including many of your members. We know that these relationships are crucial in building on international trade and economic prosperity.
The issue of Corporation Tax is now settled, and we must drive competitiveness into the future by making smart investments in the infrastructure of the future.
We must ensure Ireland is a hub for research and innovation, to ensure that we can secure and maintain a competitive edge over other markets. We must strengthen the capacity of our higher and further education colleges. We must deal with current infrastructural challenges to ensure that Ireland is a good place to work and live - central to that is dealing with the deepening housing crisis.
Ireland can develop as a world leader in renewable energy and become an international centre of clean energy, and we can achieve the reunification of our country. The realisation of these opportunities will take Ireland and our relationship with the United States to the next of level of partnership, success and prosperity.