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Prime Minister Gillard, Premier O’Farrell; honourable Ministers, Senators and Members; Ambassadors; Consul General; Chairman, Board and Members of the Lansdowne Club; distinguished guests one and all: 

 

It is my pleasure to be here with you today in this great city, in this great State, in this great country at the biggest St Patrick’s lunch in the world.

 

I would like to thank Prime Minister Gillard not only for her kind words, but also for her attendance here for the second year in a row.

 

Prime Minister, your presence here is a clear signal of the ongoing strength and depth of the relationship between our countries and our people. 

 

We thank you and the people of Australia for the warm welcome that Irish people have received over many years – a welcome that I believe Irish people continue to repay by working hard, playing their part and making a strong and active contribution to Australia’s economy and communities.

 

While the Prime Minister’s connections may be Welsh rather than Irish,  Premier O’Farrell, I am delighted to see that New South Wales is in Irish hands – a fact that will be reflected tomorrow night when the Opera House goes green.

 

Premier, I would like to thank you for your continued support, not only of the Lansdowne Club, but also of the work of the Consulate and for the Irish community more generally.

 

I have come to Australia with a clear message – through a combination of application and determination Ireland is facing our economic challenges head on; our economy has returned to growth; and we are absolutely open for business.

 

There is every reason to be confident that Ireland will be the success story that emerges from the current difficulties in Europe. 

 

We have so far achieved – or exceeded – all of the targets set in the EU, ECB, IMF programme of assistance and we are on track to emerge from the programme in 2013. 

 

We have restructured and recapitalised our banking systems. Labour costs have improved. The World Bank rates Ireland to be the most supportive business environment in the euro area. 

 

Though our unemployment rate is still too high, it has now stabilised and has begun to fall. New initiatives have been launched to boost job creation – we are working actively to ensure that our young people can once again look to Ireland for their future.

 

Our renewed growth has been predominantly export-led.   Our exports grew last year by 6%, bringing Irish exports to their highest level ever – back above pre-recession levels.

 

This is a good news story that needs to be told, and I am here to tell it.

 

Yesterday I met with some of the 100 Irish companies who are here in Australia and are doing well, developing business and looking for additional opportunities.

 

As we have regained cost competitiveness, our level of Foreign Direct Investment has returned to levels not seen since 2000.

 

Australia is also an important part of that investment story.

 

Corporations using Ireland as a European base include such well-known Australian names as Macquarie Bank, QBE Insurance, Amcor and Computershare. 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, now is the time to invest in – and benefit from - Ireland’s recovery.

 

 

It is also the time to travel to Ireland as a visitor. As our economy recovers, the value on offer for visitors has increased. Our top class hotels and restaurants are more price competitive today than at any time in the past decade.

 

With the strength of the Aussie dollar and airlines offering one-stop flights to Dublin, the question for Australians is not why go to Ireland but when!

 

Across Australia Irish communities are strong and vibrant and, through business networks like the Lansdowne Club, are working together to ensure that connections are made and opportunities harnessed.

 

We are proud of the contribution the Irish diaspora have made to their adopted homelands across the world; just as we are proud of the diaspora’s ongoing commitment to and support for Ireland.

 

As Australia’s premier Irish business network, the Lansdowne Club gives crucial support to the broader Irish business community here in Sydney.

 

I would like to commend Lansdowne Club Chairman Peter Brennan and the Members of the Board for their work over the last year, and in particular their willingness to engage with the younger generation of Irish business people here in Australia.

 

I wish you the very best of luck with the new Mentoring initiative, which is a very real and practical example of the modern meitheal,  of established Irish people extending the hand of assistance and friendship to others at a challenging time.

 

Ladies and gentlemen as the world goes green this week – including here in Sydney – we reflect upon the ties that bind us together – our culture, our heritage and our kinship.

 

This week we avail of the unique opportunity these ties give us to tell the world that Ireland is on the road to recovery.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure meeting you and speaking to you.  In conclusion I would like to extend my best wishes to you for a happy Saint Patrick’s Day. 

 

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádriag oraibh go léir.

Go raibh mile maith agaibh. 

 

ENDS