Yes to Lisbon, Yes to FDI, Yes to New Jobs

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms. Mary Coughlan, T.D., today (Tuesday, 22 September 2009) said that the message she has received from the international foreign direct investment community is clear - Ireland's position and influence within the European Union is a key factor in choosing to locate new job-creating investments here.

The Tánaiste said that a YES vote by the Irish people to the Lisbon Treaty will send a clear signal to potential investors that Ireland is serious about its pitch as the gateway to the EU. She said that a strong YES vote on Friday week would give new impetus to job creation and an export-led recovery.

"Earlier this month I travelled with IDA Ireland to New York to meet a series of client companies and those considering an investment in Ireland for the first time. It struck me that, at all but one of our meetings, we were asked where Ireland stood in terms of its commitment to the EU. The question was simple and, in true New York style, to the point - are we in, or are we out?"

The Tánaiste said that perceptions in the world of business and investment are highly important and that investors, where possible, work to avoid uncertainty and risk.

"While it is clear that the intricacies of our national debate on the Treaty are lost in translation across the Atlantic, the message received by our delegation was loud and clear. Ireland's position and influence within the EU matters to those overseas companies choosing Ireland as their base in Europe. If we are in, they are interested in doing business. If we are out, then it raises a doubt, it raises more questions."

Ms. Coughlan said that foreign owned enterprises in Ireland account for around 85% of manufactured exports from this country and employ in excess of 150,000 people directly. She said that failure to ratify the Lisbon Treaty risks placing Ireland at the political and economic periphery of the EU, with a danger that economic policies and institutional rules would be decided without taking Ireland's interests, and those of companies based here, into account. This, she said, will cast a doubt on Ireland's attractiveness as the optimum place to invest, with obvious related negative effects for job creation.

"The perception and the reality of unhindered access to the EU single market, representing more than 30% of total global economic output, and political clout in EU decision-making, is critical to both FDI companies based in Ireland or those considering an investment here. A strong YES vote by the Irish people on October 2nd will dispel any international doubt about Ireland's rightful place as the gateway of choice for international access to the EU."