Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity presented by the motion to discuss the overall performance of Ireland in recent years in the areas of employment generation, economic success and the objective of maintaining our success going forward. I am also pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the key issues we must address to maintain our competitiveness and the premier status we enjoy among our European neighbours in terms of economic performance.

The extent of international media interest and the number of inquiries from countries across the globe in the Irish story are difficult to comprehend at times. As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I meet on a weekly basis at home and abroad with people from different sectors internationally who want to find out about the Irish experience and the methods we have used to create so much additional employment. We should acknowledge the tremendous success Ireland has enjoyed over the past ten years but that is not to say we do not continue to face challenges or that there are not difficulties in certain areas. The bottom line is that we have transformed the country in terms of economic and employment growth and are the envy of Europe.

People talk about the role of Government, which Senator Ulick Burke attacked regarding Ballinasloe. Interestingly, a key reason cited for the success of Ireland in attracting inward investment is the agility and responsiveness of Government to the needs of multinational companies. Only last week, the directors of Yahoo, which is to set up its European headquarters here, said they felt there was a pro-enterprise approach in Ireland and that we could knock heads together among various interests including the trade union movement, local authorities and Government. We can remove barriers and obstacles and people feel the timeframe they are given within which they can successfully establish an operation in Ireland is reliable. Intel and Dell say they could never have established as rapidly elsewhere in Europe the operations they created here.

Our economic growth has been significantly stronger since 1997 than that of our EU partners. The outlook for the future is benign and we expect growth to continue. It is forecast that the economy will grow by 4.7% of GNP in 2005, which is twice the average rate across the 25 member states of the EU. This positive scenario has been recognised by the Commission which acknowledged in its commentary on Ireland's Stability and Growth Pact 2005-07 our strong growth and sound public finances. Strong economic growth has led to significant job increases. Since 1997, the numbers in employment have grown by almost 450,000. According to the unemployment register and notwithstanding blows to the local economy through the closure of traditional industries, Ballinasloe, which I visited recently, has 1,000 more people in employment than a number of years ago.

The nature and profile of employment has changed. While we are under pressure in low-cost manufacturing in certain sectors, the services sector has experienced significant growth. Announcements are no longer made about the creation of ten jobs here or five jobs there. We must analyse events. While we acknowledge regional development issues, the additional 450,000 jobs created since 1997 must exist somewhere. They are not all in Cork, Galway and Dublin, the last of which I should have mentioned first.