Speech by Minister Michael Finneran TD at the Roscommon/South Leitrim Fianna Fáil Conference

Ministers, Deputies, Councillors and Delegates, It is great to see so many of you here in our constituency of Roscommon South Leitrim today. You are all very welcome.

I am delighted to be here with you today at this conference which is a great initiative and an ideal forum for us to get together and discuss you the party members’s concerns and ideas. It is vital that we come together to discuss and assess the challenges we have faced over the last two years and the problems we are working hard to address.

The last couple of years have been some of the hardest the people of this country have ever faced. Here in our own constituency and around the country people are struggling to pay bills, pay their rent or a mortgage and to keep their jobs or their businesses afloat. However, I believe that the tough and at times unpopular decisions this government has taken combined with the sacrifices and hard work of the Irish people are beginning to pay off. This Government and our Taoiseach are providing leadership. The Government had a plan for economic recovery and it is working. Our budgetary strategy over the last 18 months is restoring order to the public finances. The positive Exchequer figures published this week are evidence of this. We have always maintained that without a properly functioning banking system we have no economy. Our plan to repair the banking system is working. Through the transfer of its riskiest loans to NAMA, we are removing the crippling uncertainty about the losses on its balance sheet. Our policies are delivering a cleaned up, well-capitalised and better funded Banks that are in a position to provide the vital credit that is needed to support economic recovery and job creation.

A year ago Ireland was labelled as just another member of a group of countries which was facing serious trouble. Today we are held up as an example and people are talking about our resolve and capacity to deal with problems. This week the Financial Times praised the moves we have made to keep Ireland ahead of the posse. “Ireland is not in the same league as Greece: the former Celtic Tiger has a credible recovery plan and has bounced back before.”

The Economic outlook is good. The ESRI have predicated a return to growth later in the year. Similarly the European Commission has predicated 3% growth in 2011. Car sales are up, consumer confidence is up and retail sales are up. Our decisive action is a key factor in consumer sentiment back to levels last seen in 2008. We are continuing to attract significant foreign direct investment. Eight of the top 10 high-tech and pharmaceutical firms and 15 of the top 20 medical devices firms are based here because we can offer them a competitive business environment and a well educated workforce. The numbers on the Live Register whilst still far too high are beginning to stabilise. The ESRI and the Central Bank have both predicted that the number of people on the dole queue will level off over the coming year. We have introduced a wide range of innovative measures to create and protect jobs but we know that the best way to get people back to work is to get our house in order.

Despite what the opposition would have you believe, in more prosperous times we invested heavily in health, in education, in more teachers, more nurses, more Gardaí. We have provided for our older people and for the less well off and invested in our roads and in our infrastructure . It is because we did so that we are in a position to take advantage as the economic environment improves. This investment in our people and in our infrastructure has been felt in every party of the country including here in the constituency of Roscommon /South Leitrim.

Despite the difficulties and the pressures on the public finances over the last couple of years, this Fianna Fáil led Government has stood by the agricultural community. Last year, for example, almost 10,000 Roscommon farmers received farm waste management grants. By the end of January this year, we had paid in excess of €1 billion under the Scheme nationally, making it the most significant on-farm investment scheme in the history of the State. In the last five years over €200 million has been paid to Roscommon farmers under the Single Farm Payment Scheme. During the same period, farmers in Roscommon have received almost €65 million under the Disadvantaged Area Scheme.

Last month, I had the privilege of announcing that my Department had the green light for the construction of the new civic offices in Roscommon town. This €20m flagship project is a great boost for the county and it is expected that there will be in the region of 100 people employed in the construction phase over a period of 18 to 24 months.

The Opposition has continued to talk out of both sides of their mouth on decentralisation, talking it down nationally yet calling for it locally at the same time. Only a couple of weeks ago Enda Kenny talked about the damage done by an ill-thought out decentralisation programme-(Dáil Eireann, 28 April 2010) That is not our experience here . Decentralisation to Roscommon Town and Carrick and Shannon has seen the relocation of 250 public servants to date and we are delighted to have them. Likewise they are enjoying the quality of life that this part of their country can offer them and their families

Over the last five years we have invested about €130 million on national roads in Roscommon and Leitrim alone which has resulted in The N5, the N6 Athlone to Ballinsloe and the N4. Despite the challenging economic environment we are continuing to invest 5% of GNP in infrastructure this year, twice the European average. Bypasses in Ballaghaderreen, Roscommon, and Boyle have also received the go ahead. In fact over the next six years €40 billion will be invested in infrastructure nationally creating up to 60,000 new jobs.

There is hardly a sports club in the constituency that hasn’t benefitted from the sports grants over the last few years. Between Sligo and Leitrim grants to the value of over €6.5 million have encouraged greater participation in sport at local level and has provided a great boost to sports and voluntary organisations throughout the county.

We started this new decade facing great challenges but also significant opportunities. The global recession has seen Ireland suffering worse than most but we have also responded faster than many other countries. Ireland is now regarded by international investors as a country that faces up to its problems and deals with them effectively. A wide range of independent international bodies from the European Commission, to the OECD and the European Central Bank are saying that Ireland is turning the corner and can, with continued resolve, build a strong recovery. I believe it, I know you believe it. By working together we can get this economy back on the road to growth. Irish people have shown the world that the enterprising spirit that brought us the boom is alive and well and will lead us back to recovery.