Bush praises Irish achievements

Jeb Bush, governor of Florida and brother of US president, George W Bush, said yesterday that he's proud of his country's contribution to Irish economic success.

Addressing the annual American Chamber of Commerce Ireland lunch in Dublin's Conrad Hotel, he said the Republic's experience over the last 10 years proved that markets worked and capitalism worked.

"What Ireland has done is you've focused on the life sciences sector to catapult yourselves forward," he said. "And I'm proud as American that much of that investment has come from my country."

The total wealth generated in Florida last year came to $670 billion (€512 billion). Governor Bush said if the state were a country, it would be the 16th largest in the world. More than 1.3 million jobs were created there last year. The state has a cash surplus of $8 billion, some of which Governor Bush said was used to buy land in environmentally sensitive regions of Florida to guarantee their protection.

Florida does not charge its citizens personal income tax. Mr Bush said this was one of the reasons that the state was successful, as it stimulated economic growth and prosperity.

Florida is pursuing similar policies to the Republic in supporting research and development and innovation. It is investing $500 million in developing science laboratories to stimulate research.

It also has a policy of matching endowments to universities in the state dollar-for-dollar. "The net result is that Florida has moved into the life science sector," he said, adding that he hoped the state would be one of the top three players in this business.

Asked about the current round of world trade talks, Mr Bush said that relatively soon, we would be able to establish if the Doha round was going to be a success or a failure.

He pointed out that because of Florida's position close to South America, he understood the position taken by countries from that region.

Many of them, including Brazil and Argentina, want the US and EU to get rid of the protections they have for agriculture and allow imports of beef and other products.

"I think we could see benefits of free trade as it relates to these countries, and put aside the short-term challenges that free trade brings with it," he said. "If you're prepared to compete and bring down trade barriers then you can be successful."