Kenny says Government has made 'good start' on economy

TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny last night stressed his determination to “sort out” the economy when he addressed business lobby group Ibec, which yesterday elected its first woman president.

Julie O’Neill, is vice president of operations and general manager at US biopharma group Gilead Sciences Ireland. She takes over from BWG chief executive Leo Crawford.

Mr Kenny told Ibec’s president’s dinner his Government had “made a good start” on the economy, pointing particularly to the jobs initiative.

He reminded the business community of the need for it to play it’s part. Referring particularly to the tourism sector, he said: “I do not want to find in six months a situation where the cuts we have made [on business costs] have not been passed on.”

But he reassured the business leaders: “Our job is not to tax work and to tax employment and we are not going to do that. That is not the road back to economic freedom,” he said.

In her address, Ms O’Neill said the organisation would support the Government’s efforts to work on an international stage “to rebuild relationships that matter to this country”. She also lent support to Government policies to reform public services and rein in public spending as well as getting credit flowing in the economy.

She praised the efforts of Irish executives and of Ibec in addressing Ireland’s “tarnished” image by getting the message across internationally that, despite the country’s sovereign debt problems, industry here is strong.

“I believe we have proved our capabilities by delivering a stellar export performance over the past 18 months,” she said.

“We cannot say that the Government has reached the end of its austerity drive; we know that there are more tough but necessary measures coming,” said Ms O’Neill.

“But we can say with some confidence that the restructuring necessary in the private sector has been delivered and that most firms are now gearing up for growth.

“Firms are beginning to invest again . . . something they had stopped doing as a reaction to the crisis as far back as 2009.

She urged Ibec and its members to provide leadership. “We must replicate this confidence in the consumer arena and give people the assurances needed to make personal investment and spending decisions..”