MINISTER FOR Social Protection Joan Burton has told members of the Ireland-US Council in New York that Ireland is “marching towards recovery”.
Addressing the council’s annual St Patrick’s Day lunch at the Metropolitan Club, Ms Burton thanked the members of the high-profile business network for their continued investment support, friendship, loyalty and “understanding of the difficult period that we’ve experienced in our country”.
She said she had come to America to “make the case for Ireland”, and highlighted bright spots for the Irish economy including the first net increase in the number of people in employment since the recession began – in the fourth quarter of last year – and “a record balance-of-trade surplus” for 2011.
“The reasons that you came to Ireland in the past remain,” she told the 290 lunch-goers. These included former taoiseach John Bruton, Ireland’s consul general in New York, Noel Kilkenny, and the reigning Rose of Tralee, Tara Talbot, along with representatives from Pfizer, PwC, Bank of Ireland, AIB, CIÉ Tours, Morgan Stanley, United Airlines, NBC, NewsCorp and others.
“We have very educated young people who are anxious and willing to work,” she said.
“Our banking sector has been reformed and regulated to the highest standards, but it remains a very friendly environment in which to do business.”
Ms Burton said she had first come to the US as a student on a J1 visa, working for the summer in Atlantic City where she earned the fees for her final year in UCD, adding that she was grateful for opportunities offered by the US.
She quoted former US president Bill Clinton, who last month told business leaders attending the “Invest in Ireland” conference held at New York University that “now is the time: there’s never been a better opportunity, to invest in Ireland”. This was true especially while property values were so low, she said.