Speech by An Taoiseach, Simon Harris T.D. IBEC Presidential Dinner RDS, Thursday 5th September 2024

*Check against Delivery*

President, Ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

Thank you, Danny, for the invitation to be here and for Ibec’s ongoing engagement with Government, which is both challenging and constructive, as it should be.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le gach aon duine a chabhraigh chun an t-imeacht iontach seo a eagrú.

To outgoing president, Paul Duffy, thank you for your work over the past year on behalf of Irish business and best wishes to newly elected President Anne O’Leary – I know you bring a wealth of experience to the role.

I join you on my 150^th day in office as Taoiseach. I wasn’t intending to celebrate, and I definitely intend to stop counting at some point, but it’s good of you to provide an occasion to mark it nonetheless…

A lot has happened in those 150 days but right now my mind is focused on the last two, which I spent in Ukraine. Landing back here this afternoon, having witnessed first-hand the awful reality of war in Europe, one cannot help but feel our own good fortune and the ongoing need for our solidarity.

No one thought in February 2022 that we would still be witnessing this war.

As the invasion which began it, becomes more distant in time, perhaps it has become easier to forget the proximity of this war to our daily lives.

While it takes place on Ukrainian soil, it is an attack on our way of life – an attack on our values – freedom, democracy, rule of law.

I know from my meetings with President Zelenskyy that he has the resolve to see this out and I know that we – the Irish people – will back him until Ukraine prevails.

The spectre of war reminds us of the multiple challenges which can confront us a country from an unexpected international event.

Energy shocks. Inflation. Migration.

As previously done during the pandemic, the Government stepped in to help businesses affected by the invasion, while the Irish economy and our society demonstrated again our capacity for resilience in the face of crisis.

Businesses are at the heart of this resilience and at the heart of our potential to build a successful and sustainable society, an economy which can thrive and withstand future shocks, and a State which delivers for our people.

Vision

President, I want to assure you that backing business is fundamental to my political vision, just as Irish businesses are fundamental to the prosperity of our economy and society.

I know resilience cannot be taken for granted and there is no room for complacency.

We are often described as an economy of multinational companies. We are of course very proud of our success in attracting foreign direct investment, but I think that description ignores how many hundreds of thousands of successful SMEs we have in this country, employing record numbers of workers.

It needs to be said, again and again: We have never had so many people working in our economy. Progress is often hard to see over the short term, but we are seeing employment numbers beating their forecasts from only a few months ago. Around 800,000 more people are at work compared to this time 10 years ago.

Some of you may have heard me talk about the need for a new social contract for Ireland – one which renews our promise as a Republic to create an equality of opportunity, to support those who need the State the most and to protect our hard-earned economic successes and to use its benefits to deliver tangible outcomes to society.

What we don’t talk about enough, in my opinion, is the fact that our enterprise base – our businesses up and down the country – generate the resources to build that society.

So often in our political discourse we debate how we will spend the money, without focusing on how to generate it.

Thank you – each and every one of you in this room – for the risks you take, for the people you employ and for the contribution you make in creating a better society for all.

Fundamentally, the potential you enable in individual workers fuels our potential as a country. It is a fuel we cannot risk running short of.

Pro-business package

Although the economy is doing well overall, having met countless business owners up and down the country over the past four months, I’m under no illusions as to the challenges which also confront businesses.

On becoming Taoiseach, I tasked the new Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Peter Burke with developing a package for small businesses.

We published a 15-point plan to support business within five weeks. And tonight, I can tell you that 11 of the 15 points are complete or underway.

The 12^th will happen on October 1^st when employers’ PRSI will be reduced for employees on the minimum wage and the remaining three actions, relating to upskilling staff, will be complete before the end of the year.

Budget 2025

President, I can also tell you that the Budget – which will be presented in less than four weeks’ time – will contain another pro-business package, including changes to the tax system to encourage innovation and investment.

Taxation

As part of a €1.4 billion tax package, the Budget will also contain a significant income tax and USC reduction package, which will benefit workers and households, and help to keep our tax system competitive.

Simply put, I and my party believe that nobody on the average wage should be paying the higher rate of income tax. As a country we have worked hard to reach full employment, and we want to ensure we make work pay.

This will always be a guiding principle for us.

Self-employed Surcharge

As Leader of Fine Gael, I want to also say the abolition of the USC surcharge on self-employed income is unfinished business that we are determined must be delivered.

It’s a perverse state of affairs that those who risk the most are penalised the most. The opposite should be the case. This is a vestige of austerity and it must go.

We need to reward entrepreneurship, not penalise it, and our manifesto will make this clear.

Better Regulation Initiative

Among the 75 policy recommendations in the IBEC pre-budget submission is a Better Regulation Unit to monitor new costs and regulation.

Given that interlinkage between individual potential and realising our potential as a country, we share a mutual interest in improving the conditions and experience of being an employee.

However, we need to create a fail-safe in the system that moderates the cumulative effects of well-intentioned regulations or laws from damaging businesses.

I want to announce here tonight that, arising from the Competitiveness Summit I chaired on Monday, a memo will be brought to cabinet next week to establish a new Better Regulation Initiative to work with industry to advance work on this quickly.

Cost of Living

Ladies and gentlemen, I agree with many of the proposals in IBEC’s pre-budget submission, but we do differ on the question of one-off payments.  So many people are still struggling with the cost of living.

Yes, inflation has moderated, but prices have not fallen. When money is plentiful, we have a duty to provide financial support when it is needed. We will balance that by putting away billions of Euro into the Future Ireland Fund and a record capital infrastructure investment programme.

Infrastructure

As a country, we have never before invested so much in schools, hospitals, roads, water and housing.

2025 will be another record year – close to €15 billion euro – more than triple what it was when I first became a minister in 2014.

But I also know that this investment still isn’t enough, it’s not happening quickly enough, and we are not getting as much bang for our buck as we should.

Inflation has eroded the funding of our National Development Plan, and we need to get a lot better at delivering projects on budget and on time.

I have already outlined my proposal to create a new Department of Infrastructure. At present, the work of planning, preparing, procuring, producing and promoting capital spending happens all over government. Roads are done by the Department of Transport, houses by the Department of Housing, hospitals by the Department of Health and the HSE, schools by the Department of Education.

A dedicated Department would be led by a cabinet minister, staffed by experts with long term goals and enabled by resourcing that is stable.

Borrowing from examples in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, my party will develop this proposal over the coming weeks.

I’d also like to hear what you think and would really value any input and suggestions you may have.

Competitiveness

While we harness the potential of our strong economy to spend wisely on infrastructure for the future, we must never lose focus on productivity and competitiveness.

That is why I convened that dedicated summit on competitiveness to tease out the issues with the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, the OECD and our enterprise development agencies (EI and IDA).

Competitiveness is such a diffuse topic, spread across the whole economy. There are dynamics at play regionally, nationally, at European level and globally.

While we compare ourselves to our European peers, we can forget that Europe itself is often lagging the rest of the world.

I will be working with the next European Commission to ensure Europe is able to compete globally in a rapidly changing environment.

In responding to that challenge, we must reinforce the things that Europe is good at – such as the Single Market – and promote principles like open, free trade that have served Ireland and Europe well.

The competitiveness agenda must be a permanent focus of government, driven by the centre, with a focus on short term actions and more strategic long-term planning. I’ll make sure this is the case as Taoiseach.

Skills

I would like to thank IBEC and your members for your work on the National Training Fund over the past number of years.

This evening, I can confirm that we are going to unlock this fund, once and for all, and we will do it before the end of this year.

That, I hope, is the hallmark of my government and the government I want to lead in the future.

We listen.

We analyse.

We act.

We will deliver.

I also want to remedy Ireland’s poor rate of lifelong learning, which, while improving under this government, still lags behind leaders like Sweden and Finland.

Planning for the skills of the future is integral to supporting the potential of the individual to fulfil the potential of our economy.

Public Services

We need to also apply the principles of competitiveness to the delivery of public services.

Simply spending extra money on services does not necessarily lead to better outcomes.

I believe we need to re-imagine our public services in four ways:

• reduce the cost of services
• restore access to services
• roll out additional services
• redesign services, with the best technologies

We need to right-size the State – not in per capita terms but just to keep up.

That means more public servants in crucial roles in planning, local authorities and State agencies to meet the demands of a surging population.

But it must mean more than that too. Spending more and recruiting more without reform is a wasted opportunity and it leaves us exposed for a time when money might not be so plentiful.

People are frustrated with the State and the Government because things don’t work as they should. I share that frustration, and I’m determined to change things.

If the State can’t work well, then the least it can do is get out of your way. That’s the case for countless businesses and farmers, I know.

Housing

Ladies and Gentlemen, housing is our most pressing societal issue but it’s also a big competitiveness issue.

We are doing everything in our power to turn things around.

This year, we will exceed our housing targets with almost 40,000 homes built. This includes the biggest social housing build since 1975.

It means we are building more homes in 2024 than any year since the financial crash and bailout.

But I know it’s not happening quickly enough. We must build at least 250,000 homes over the next 5 years.

Budget 2025 will be another important step and in the Autumn, we will publish an updated Housing for All plan to detail our ambitions.

Dublin Airport

Finally, on the topic of competitiveness, I would like to mention Dublin Airport.

As an island nation, Dublin Airport is a vital component of our national competitiveness. It has all-island significance and affects all sectors of our economy.

Our population is expanding at a rate of around 100,000 people per year. We can expect roughly another million people here by 2035 according to the CSO.

And I believe it’s not realistic to plan for an expanding population and an expanding economy for 2035 based on a decision framework from a different era.

I cannot and will not intervene in a planning process, but that constraint should not prevent us from engaging on the solutions to protect connectivity and jobs. In the time ahead I would like to see Government convene a dialogue with key stakeholders on planning for the future of Dublin Airport and indeed our regional airports.

I want to see us put in place a clear, consistent policy framework to support their continued growth.

Conclusion

This close to an election, it is difficult to resist making a few political points.

I can sense the ears pricking up around the room. How close is that? I hear you ask.

Sorry, Danny, I’d love to give you some breaking news but I’m sticking with the commitment of the three-party leaders to complete our term and the truth is that is not all that far away.

The opposition – and particularly the main opposition party – will tell everyone what they want to hear over the coming weeks and months.

If you’re an investor, they’re supposedly pro-investor. But if you make a profit, you’re profiteering.

If you’re an immigrant, they support you, but only in certain areas, subject to tests you’ll never see.

If you’re a first-time buyer, they support the first-time buyer grants for now – but will take them away soon. If you buy an affordable house, you can get the keys, but they’ll tell you who you can and can’t sell it to.

In reality I know most people haven’t given much thought to who they’re voting for in the next general election.

I’ve met thousands of people over the last few months and the date of the general election is the last thing on their mind.

I know people just want things to work. To get that assessment of need, to get that childcare place, to get that first home.

As I said, people just want the State to work for them – just a little bit better – for them, their family and friends.

Whenever an election does come, people will have a very stark choice between pragmatism or populism.

A choice between hope or hopelessness.

A choice between unity in times of trouble or division in moments of crisis.

There is no doubt this country faces challenges but by working together, we can remove those barriers.

Returning to my general theme, this is where that mutual support for the development of potential comes in again.

Removing challenges lifts the limits on potential and frees us to find the paths to prosper together.

I promise you and the Irish people that I will work as hard as I can to do just that as Taoiseach.

I hope you can see from my first 150 days in the role that my focus is on hard work and getting things done.

As businesspeople, I know you can understand that.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you once again for your hard work, for your resilience, for your commitment to the potential of this country and our people.

Enjoy the rest of the evening.