St. Patrick’s Day is a time of year when we celebrate Ireland’s remarkable global family. The history of Irish and Scots-Irish communities in Georgia is a fascinating chapter in that still evolving story. And the friendships and partnerships that endure between Ireland and cities like Atlanta and Savannah are appreciated all the more in the tough economic times that currently prevail.
The election just three weeks ago of a new government for national recovery represents a watershed moment in Ireland’s road to recovery. The new government is determined to get the economy moving, restore confidence, fix our banking system and support the protection and creation of jobs.
And there is much to be encouraged about. All analysts agree that growth will return to the Irish economy in 2011. Our export performance has proved remarkably resilient: exports to the U.S. grew by a phenomenal 18 percent last year. Ireland is among the largest net exporters of pharmaceuticals, computer and information services and beef in the world. We also ran the second-highest trade surplus in Europe after Germany January to November last year.
More Irish companies are exporting than ever before. And the success stories are everywhere. When visitors arrive here in the United States, their eyes and fingerprints are scanned with technology manufactured by an Irish company, Daon. If you are having a medical procedure anywhere in the world and getting a stent implanted in your body, there’s an 80 percent chance it will be inserted with technology designed by an Irish company, Creganna-Tactx Medical. And in the most uplifting international news story in 2010, the release of the Chilean miners, a drill designed by a company in county Clare in Ireland, Mincon, made the breakthrough to establish a lifeline.
Ireland remains a superb place to invest and to do business. The new government is committed to retaining our low corporation tax rate of just 12.5 percent. The World Competitiveness Yearbook ranks Ireland fourth in the world for availability of skilled labor, fourth for having a culture open to new ideas, and sixth for labor productivity. And Irish labor costs have improved relative to other eurozone economies. There is good reason why Citi, Accenture, Hertz, Paypal and a $500 million upgrade by Intel were among the 126 foreign direct investments won by Ireland in the past year.
We hope tourists and university students also will consider Ireland as a place to visit. The satisfaction levels for tourists are among the highest in the world, with 94 percent of visitors saying their vacation either exceeded or matched their already high pre-visit expectations. And there is outstanding value available in 2011, with costs down across the board, whether your preference is for luxury 5-Star Castle Hotels or our famous bed-and-breakfasts.
Ireland is also one of the fastest growing destinations for U.S. study abroad students. There should be no surprise in that — we are a safe and friendly English-speaking country and consistently rated among the top countries in the world for the quality of graduates and post-graduates our education system produces.
The newly established Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta is here to tell these stories. And Atlanta is a great place to be. It is home to global giants like Coca-Cola, UPS and Delta, key partners for Ireland over many years. And it is home to world-class universities like Georgia Tech and Emory. A future of continued partnership is rich in possibilities. Together, we can build connections in business, science and culture that truly pay tribute to the rich and intertwined histories of Ireland and Georgia.
Paul Gleeson is Consul General of Ireland in Atlanta.
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