Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 13, inclusive, together.

I travelled to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, from 23 to 25 January. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, was also invited by the WEF to attend the forum on this occasion, noting that it was taking place during Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. The World Economic Forum annual meeting is attended by political and business leaders and heads of international organisations from across the globe. The theme of this year's meeting was resilient dynamism.

On the Wednesday evening, I attended a function hosted by Professor Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the forum, and also attended by other Heads of Government and the business council of the WEF. I participated in a number of formal events on the programme on prevailing global economic matters. These included a plenary panel session, entitled "Eurozone Crisis - the Way Forward", where I was a panellist alongside the then Prime Minister of Italy, Mr. Mario Monti, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte, and the Prime Minister of Denmark, Ms Helle Thorning-Schmidt. I also participated in a formal session on the theme of restoring Europe's dynamism beyond the current crisis, as well as a high-level discussion session on the prevailing global themes for 2013, such as the consequences of the US elections and China's 18th party congress, ongoing turbulence in the Middle East and the global financial issues.

During my time at the WEF, I also held bilateral meetings. I met Ms Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, along with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan. We discussed progress in implementing Ireland's EU-IMF programme and noted that, in each of the quarterly reviews completed to date, Ireland was deemed to have achieved all of its commitments in terms of both policy reforms and quantitative targets set under the programme of assistance. I assured Ms Lagarde that the Government remained committed to achieving the fiscal targets set under the EU-IMF programme. We emphasised that our focus was on our exit strategy from the programme, our re-entry into the financial markets and our overall debt sustainability. We discussed progress in restructuring our banking system, including our ongoing negotiations with the ECB regarding the possible restructuring of the promissory note repayment schedule. We also discussed the Government's ambitious programme of structural reforms to support job creation and to generate economic growth.

I also met Ms Lagarde on 8 March during her visit to Dublin. We engaged in a productive and wide-ranging discussion, which included priorities being progressed as part of the Irish Presidency.

As regards other meetings while I was at the WEF, on Thursday evening, 24 January, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and I participated in an event in Davos organised by IDA Ireland and attended by over 40 senior executives of major international companies. I outlined why Ireland remained one of the best locations in the world in which to invest and to do business. I also outlined the emphasis we would place on stability, growth and jobs during our Presidency of the European Union, which we have been doing. I acknowledged the vital contribution that many of the companies represented had made to Ireland and to our economy and urged those who were looking at potential locations for investment or expansion to consider Ireland very seriously.

The following day, I addressed the transatlantic business dialogue, which brings together leading figures from US and European business. The main focus of the meeting was to set out the priorities for Ireland's Presidency of the Union, including strengthening the EU-US trade and investment relationship. I also met individually with leaders of several major multinational firms from a variety of fields, principally in the high-tech and financial services areas.

The WEF provides an exceptional opportunity to interact with key players in the business world and I availed of the opportunity whenever possible to promote Ireland as a location for international business and investment.

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