Mr. Brian Cotter:

Good afternoon. The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland would like to thank the committee and its chairperson for the invitation to discuss the Irish-US economic relationship and specifically to discuss the critical role of US companies here. As our report on the Irish-US economic relationship launched on 4 October shows, the positive impact on Ireland of the strong economic relationship with the United States of America is, quite simply, stunning and encouraging. Even since the global crisis started the economic relationship between Ireland and the US has grown even stronger and this investment is still growing in 2012. This year and last year have seen strong, net job growth from US investment. This investment continues to play a vital role in Ireland. The latest figures from our report show that US investment in Ireland soared by nearly 20% in 2011. At $188 billion, it now is five times greater than it was ten years ago. To put this into perspective, US investment in Ireland is well in excess of that in Germany, at $107 billion, or France, at $89 billion.

It is also significantly ahead of China, at $54 billion, and India, at $24 billion. It is heartening that there has not been a shift in the geographical preferences of US foreign direct investment, which remains directed towards Europe in general and Ireland in particular. The strongest statistics illustrating the importance of this relationship to Ireland is that with a total output of $58 billion, US business in Ireland now accounts for almost one quarter of our GDP.

Especially welcome in this report is the news of stabilisation and a modest growth in employment in the manufacturing sector. The sector has seen positive growth between 2009 and 2011 and overall 12,000 net jobs have been added by US companies in Ireland since 2000. This leaves the total direct employment number at a record high of 107,000 or approximately 6% of the workforce. It is vital to the sustainability of a strong economic relationship between the two countries that it remains very much a two-way relationship. Irish companies in the US have a total investment of €25 billion and employment levels remain strong. Such companies are estimated to employ 120,000 employees in their operations and last year they generated $42 billion in US sales through their US operations.

Ireland's position in Europe is central to our ability to attract investment. Our report finds much to be optimistic about in Europe's future ability to attract investment to our shores as it remains one of the largest economies in the world. Europe continues to account for 30% of global consumption. It is for access to this wealthy market that US companies are in Ireland.

The report predicts benefits accruing from Ireland's close proximity to what the report refers to as "the best business opportunities on the planet", specifically the growing markets of eastern Europe, the Middle East, north Africa and Russia and her satellites, a geographical area whose combined output is greater than that of China. The report advises that Ireland needs to continue to manage its cost base and be conscious that other jurisdictions are becoming more competitive from a taxation perspective. In addition, the number of technology-capable countries competing for investment has dramatically increased. At the same time, the US has done much to reduce costs domestically and has become more competitive.

The report states that Ireland must ensure our niche in the global value chains of US multinationals. While Ireland's to-do list is long, rising to a challenge is something at which the country excels. In partnership with the US, our economic relationship is expected to remain robust and mutually beneficial. It is important to remind ourselves that since the start of 2012, US companies have publicly announced investment worth $2 billion which will create more than 6,000 new jobs in what could be seen as a healthy diversity of industries, business activities and regional spread. Investment by these firms has been instrumental in helping to create and develop a world-class labour force, critical in dispensing technology and innovation capabilities across the economy and key in expanding the global reach of indigenous firms. The past two years have been the strongest two-year period of inflows from the US on record, with a surge in capital and confidence by US investors in Ireland. This investment has bestowed macroeconomic benefits not only on the country in general but also in respect of building our research and development and, increasingly, commercialisation capacity.

This report is one of the American Chamber of Commerce's contributions to building up Ireland's reputation as an attractive business location for investment. It will be used to grab the attention of would-be investors in order that they fully examine the reasons their peers are here and continue to invest. This year's report concludes that despite a number of stiff headwinds, the ties that bind Ireland and the US remain sound and, while showing some cyclical strains, remain structurally strong.