Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s address at Enterprise Ireland’s “VC Office Hours” event in Austin, Texas

Ireland has the fastest growing economy in Europe, and one of the fastest growing in the world.

The Irish Government understands that most future jobs will be from new businesses and sectors that don’t yet exist. For this reason we strongly support the startup community in Ireland as a key driver for growth and we have helped develop a sophisticated network of growing high-potential companies.

There are many good reasons to invest in Ireland.

As the only English-speaking country in the eurozone we offer barrier-free access to a market of half a billion people.

We have a young, passionate and talented population.

We remain fully committed to pursuing policies that create the ideal conditions for enterprise and investment. Our transparent 12.5% corporate tax rate is clear and our commitment to it is rock-solid. We have added to this some of the best incentives in the world for research and development.

Ireland’s competitiveness relative to our trading partners has improved significantly in recent years.

Start-up activity is at a record high and we are the top entrepreneurial country in Europe according to recent studies.

We have become a global hub for major tech companies, including 9 of the top 10 US tech companies and all of the top 10 ‘born on the internet’ companies.

We have made huge investments in research, with a particular emphasis on industry partnerships.

Our highly-educated young population have the highest proportion of science and engineering graduates in the OECD.

Through Enterprise Ireland, we give high potential companies the means to accelerate their growth in global markets.

The role of venture capital is critical in this ecosystem.

The Government has invested, through Enterprise Ireland, in the venture capital sector over the past 20 years.

Our start-up funding supports range from feasibility funding to multi-stage equity investments by Enterprise Ireland.

The Government has also established IFI – Innovation Fund Ireland. The objective of IFI is to attract international VCs to establish a presence in Ireland. So far we have seen a range of great names establish in Ireland including Polaris Ventures, DFJ Esprit, Sofinnova Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Lightstone Ventures.

We are always on the lookout for new sources of capital for our great emerging companies.

We understand the difficulties that many VCs face in investing overseas, but I can tell you that in Ireland we have great companies and great supports which allow these companies to scale up quickly. That’s why Ireland is ranked the top entrepreneurial economy in the EU.

You’ll get a chance to meet some of those great Irish companies at today’s event. I want to wish everyone a successful morning.