The scale and breadth of Ireland's economic and social transformation in the period since I became Taoiseach are unprecedented, writes BERTIE AHERN
IT HAS been my great pleasure to serve the people of this island as Taoiseach. As I leave office, I take this opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made together as a nation.
Ireland has come a long way since 1997 when Fianna Fáil was returned to Government. I am proud to have played a role in bringing this country forward.
I said to Dáil Éireann on the day I was first elected Taoiseach that I would like the governments I would lead to "be judged on our ability to make major inroads into poverty, disadvantage, social exclusion and long-term unemployment".
My politics had been moulded in my home constituency of Dublin Central and by my early years in the Dáil. As a young TD, I was regularly confronted with the problems generated by the huge rate of unemployment, poverty and lack of investment that characterised our capital city at that time.
Indeed, at my first press conference after my election as leader of Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party, I had also identified unemployment "as the source of many of our social evils". I pledged that my party would lead an all-out assault on joblessness and emigration.
I believe it has been one of the great achievements of our generation to transform this country from one where once emigration was the norm, to a nation of net immigration. Not only are we now welcoming back many of those who emigrated from Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s, but we're also attracting skilled workers from abroad.
For me, one statistic captures the progress we have made. In 1987 when I was first appointed minister for labour, just over 1.1 million were in employment in Ireland. By December last year, that figure was nearly 2.14 million.
That is over one million jobs created in a generation and there is a real human story behind these impressive figures in that no longer must our young people leave this country for a decent job and a living.
Over the past decade, I am proud to have provided stable government, which has been a key ingredient in delivering a modern economy with sustainable growth in employment and which has brought an end to the days of forced emigration.
Ireland today is more prosperous than at any time in our entire history. All levels of Irish society have seen their well-being dramatically improved since June 1997.
The scale and breadth of Ireland's economic and social transformation in the period since I became Taoiseach are unprecedented. But that achievement belongs to the Irish people and is rooted in their hard work and ingenuity.
As a nation, we can be proud that our economy has achieved the highest real annual growth rates within OECD countries.
When I became Taoiseach in 1997, GDP per head of population was around the EU average - last year it was around 35 per cent greater than the average of the EU 15, and some 47 per cent greater than the EU 27 average.
I cite these extraordinary levels of growth because they have been central to providing the resources necessary to implement the caring philosophy that is at the heart of Fianna Fáil's republicanism.
My administrations have brought forward some of the most progressive social measures anywhere in Europe. Child benefit has quadrupled, old age pensions have substantially increased and we have one of the most generous minimum wages in Europe. Record levels of funding have also been provided to tackle disadvantage in education and to improve our health services.
I am proud that the governments I have led always espoused a strong caring philosophy. On the legislative front, I especially want to mention the Disability Act, which put in place a co-ordinated national strategy. This groundbreaking Act has been fundamental to improving the quality of life of so many of our people.
Funding for homelessness has been substantially increased and a new homeless strategy is nearing completion. I am also pleased that we have set in train a whole new culture of care in special education. There are now over 19,000 staff in our schools working solely with children with special needs. This includes almost 10,000 special needs assistants, compared with just 300 in 1997.
World-class research will be central to Ireland's success. As a government, I believe we have shown true foresight in this critical sector. Our third-level research programme (PRTLI) is promoting excellence and will keep us ahead of the curve. Investment of €8.2 billion in science, technology and innovation is a cornerstone of the new National Development Plan. That plan, which was launched by my Government in January 2007, is an integrated and coherent seven-year investment strategy that will help shape our national economic and social development in the period ahead.
I also want to record my belief that the European Union has played a central role in the development of Ireland as one of the most dynamic economies in the world. I am convinced that the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty is imperative to the future economic and social progress of the Irish people.
In recent times, since I announced my plans to resign, many people have asked me what is my proudest achievement.
Undoubtedly, peace in Ireland is my proudest achievement.
It is an achievement I share with thousands and thousands of people across this island and beyond. I am grateful to so many people for their courage and work in helping to bring about an Ireland free of conflict, where people of North and South can live together in peace and prosperity.
The Belfast Agreement provides the political framework for an island that can at last achieve its full potential. We live now in a new Ireland with immense possibilities
rooted in the unity and friendship of its people.
I thank God that we have closed the bloody chapters in our history and opened a new book of reconciliation and renewal.
I leave the office of taoiseach full of faith for the future and full of gratitude to the Irish people for the confidence they placed in me in three successive elections.
I look forward to the Irish success story continuing under the leadership of Brian Cowen who I believe will be a great taoiseach.