Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Economic migration is a challenging debate for us. I have brought in a green card system to facilitate the attraction of high-skilled persons with their families to this society. Only approximately 1,000 were facilitated last year since the scheme was introduced.

However, I am conscious it is not a popular message to send out. If we are serious about competitiveness, we must heed what multinationals such as Microsoft and Intel tell me when I visit, that the growing issue is procurement of skills and they will go where the skills are available. Due to the post-11 September 2001 scenario in the States, such companies are encountering significant difficulty accessing skills outside the US. Therefore, a properly managed migration policy is important and it is a factor. When one looks at Google in Ireland, for example, with 1,500 employees in Dublin and 43 language competencies, one begins to see the complex nature of the modern Irish economy. It is not one that lends itself to simplistic notions, one way or the other, and it creates its own challenges in terms of economic planning into the future. However, in terms of sustainable migration policy, we have developed a good framework in this country and it is a policy we worked on with Forfás, and the expert group on future skills needs, in terms of developing to meet skills deficits in a sustainable way regarding non-EU citizens coming into the country. It is a framework that will continue to help us attract foreign direct investment.

The foreign direct investment pipeline is still strong. We are focusing on certain areas, including high-end manufacturing, internationally traded services and areas such as financial services, pharmaceuticals, bio-pharmaceutical, technology companies, information communication technologies, space, etc. We are chasing existing clients to bring more mandates into the country and we are chasing new companies and asking them to consider locating in Ireland. I am only back from the States where I was with representatives of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. We are developing greater synergies between the two in respect of our trade missions.

Some 64% of investments in 2007 were located outside Dublin. Our corporation tax rate of 12.5% is critically important. This Government brought it down to 12.5%. In fairness, former Minister Charlie McCreevy took no prisoners when he did it. He was condemned and attacked at the time of that budget by certain politicians on the other side of the House but he was right to proceed with it because it has had an important bearing.

Employment in IDA Ireland companies accounts for approximately 136,000 jobs. The average salary from IDA supported investments in 2007 was almost €44,000 or 19% above the average industrial wage of €36,800, reflecting the higher quality and related higher skills of the new positions created by these investments. IDA Ireland supported companies paid €3 billion in corporation tax in 2007, accounting for 47% of the total corporation tax take of €6.7 billion.

I refer the House to a contribution penned by Alan Gray of Indecon to a recent competitiveness conference held at Farmleigh where he tracked American FDI investment in Ireland over the past six to seven years and the output. He outlined significant increases in the value of US investments in Ireland compared to 2000, giving the lie to the story that it is all over and ending. In terms of eastern Europe, we compare extremely favourably regarding both the value and volume of FDI emanating from the United States.

However, it is clearly more challenging. We will not be competing with China and India on wage rates. When a company such as Allergan moves to China or Costa Rica, there are certain areas in which we will not be competing. I do not think anyone in the House will suggest that we try to match the wages of China or Vietnam. We will not do that. Brain power and targeting certain key areas is the name of the game. We look at China and India as big markets to which our own companies may go to see what niches they can establish and what portion of the market share they can get.

We must watch our overall offering, such as cost competitiveness. We have no argument in that regard. This is a different economy now. It is a far more value-added economy and the cost of living here is higher than it was ten or 15 years ago. Therefore, we offer companies different value propositions, but we must ensure that the net package we offer is still beneficial and narrows the gap between ourselves and our competitors. That is the issue.

We must drive the Irish entrepreneurial story and really work behind quality Irish companies such as high-potential start-up companies and the scaling division of Enterprise Ireland, which selects companies with potential for growth and works with them actively on research and development, human resource, sales and marketing and management capability to drive them on. Some 30 CEOs from the companies in the scaling division went to Stanford University to do a leadership for growth programme sponsored by Enterprise Ireland. They are the kind of programmes that will make a difference to the growth of Irish companies in the future and we are clearly aware of the need for enhanced management capability on the indigenous side as well as sales and marketing.

The New York Times ran an article entitled "Ireland is alive with enthusiasm for entrepreneurship". In fact, I got a telephone call from The New York Times asking if I would give an interview about a company called Photo Nation Ireland Limited, which is based in Galway. It developed the technology, beloved of all politicians, which takes the red eye out when Deputy Ring is being photographed. The New York Times asked me quizzically how that technology originated in Ireland, of all places.

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