IT IS not sufficient to say Ireland is open for business and leave it at that. Every opportunity must be taken to convince international agencies, be they financial or commercial, that the country is actively seeking investors, has made significant progress in correcting past mistakes and is vigorously pursuing new markets. Foreign governments require similar attention. The most effective way of communicating this multi-layered message is through personal contact. That is why Government Ministers and relevant State agencies have vital roles to play in maintaining contacts and spreading a positive message.
There has been a tendency in the media to criticise this type of promotion. Because such contacts do not produce immediate, quantifiable results, their value is questioned. Some media criticism has been justified. During the Celtic Tiger years, as money sloshed through the exchequer, foreign trips by senior politicians and officials occasionally became thinly disguised, expensive junkets, providing more benefit to the participants than to the economy.
Much official travel serves the national interest, however, not least in nurturing the relationship with the Irish diaspora, which is enriching in more than just the economic sphere. St Patrick’s Day celebrations around the world represent a promotional opportunity that other small states view with envy, and in Washington our national holiday offers our political leaders an annual meeting with the US president and leading figures in Congress.
The value of such contacts was evident last week when Taoiseach Enda Kenny visited the World Economic Forum in Davos. Overshadowed by the daft controversy at home over his remarks about Irish borrowing habits in the boom, he most usefully set out the Government’s fiscal aspirations in a speech to heads of government, multinational corporations and financial interests and, later, briefed individuals on progress being made in returning Ireland to economic growth and the bond market. The switching of €3.5 billion in Government bonds to a later maturity date – at a good price – happily coincided with his visit and he made the most of it.
International confidence, or sentiment as it is sometimes called, is an ephemeral commodity. Arising from our insolvency and the EU-IMF bailout, the State’s reputation hit the skids. That is being gradually rebuilt through hard work, cuts in State spending and rising exports. Growth and jobs are the obvious way forward. But support will be required at intergovernmental and multinational investment levels if this is to happen quickly. That is why political and corporate networking is so important.
The State may be able to leave the intensive care programme imposed by the EU-IMF by the end of next year. That will not mark the end of our problems but it may herald a new beginning when, as Mr Kenny said, there will be “a relentless focus on job creation”. The groundwork must now be laid through intensive networking and overseas travel. The Government should ignore begrudgers and get on with it.