THE question I am most frequently asked now that Hewlett Packard has a manufacturing base here is "why Ireland?"

I realise the question is asked because of a desire to understand what attracts a multinational such as Hewlett Packard to this country, so that Ireland can continue to provide the conditions for this type of long term investment and commitment.

May I, at the outset, express my admiration and sincere respect for the IDA, Kildare County Council and other Government and local representatives who played such an important part in influencing our decision to choose Ireland for the manufacture of our inkjet cartridge. We have not been disappointed.

Our operation, already up and running in a temporary facility in Blanchardstown, has been the fastest start up worldwide for Hewlett Packard. It took 14 months from conception to the first production day a tribute to our well qualified, flexible and motivated workforce, which totals 400 from a proposed 2,000 over the next three years. So, why Ireland?

Hewlett Packard examined several European locations before settling on Ireland for the production of inkjet cartridges for European distribution. Two deciding factors were

. The economic environment for investment

. The availability of a young, highly educated workforce.

TO address the economic issues first. Ireland has a stable government with low inflation and low interest rates. As a member of the EU and the European monetary system it offers unrestricted access to Europe.

Its economy is open to international trade and the Government supports overseas investments by offering an attractive incentive package, principally a corporate tax rate of 10 per cent for manufacturing industry through to 2010.

Hewlett Packard was also impressed with the grants available for training, product development and technology acquisition. The overall policy encourages multinationals such as ourselves to make considerable financial investment in Ireland.

We originally decided to build a 450,000 square foot facility on a 200 acre site at Leixlip. The quality of the infrastructure, roads, telecommunications, education system and, of course, the availability of a large site close to air and sea ports impressed us.

We have been so impressed with progress that we are delighted to announce Phase Two of this development, a £218 million Hewlett Packard IDA investment in a further 300,000 squad feet which ode 836 jobs, bringing our direct employment figure to 2,000 by 1999.

This brings me to our second reason the availability of a young highly educated workforce.

We been very impressed with the quality of our current employees but we, along with companies such as Intel, Motorola, Gateway, are all expanding our operations here in Ireland, with inevitable consequences for recruitment.

The challenge for Ireland is not only to attract companies like Hewlett-Packard but to continue to provide a suitably qualified workforce so these companies can expand and develop.

We are very conscious that in our recruitment we have found it difficult to find a sufficient number of women who and qualified as engineers and technicians. We are also aware, from discussions with various RTCs and universities, that the number of students both male and female, taking courses relevant to our recruitment deeds may not be sufficient for our future demands.

While complimenting the Irish education system on its current performance it is important to ensure that the children of today are educated for the jobs of the future.

IN ORDER to ensure that Irish school leavers and graduates are qualified for the employment in the electronics sector in the next century it is essential that the curriculum of both primary and secondary schools is developed to ensure that science and technology are promoted and funded in all schools.

There is an urgent need to introduce schoolchildren, at the earliest age, to science and technology and to ensure primary teachers have the training and equipment needed to pursue successfully these subjects. If children are not exposed to these areas of study at primary level then they will be less likely to select these subjects in second and third level colleges. This may also need a "mind set" change from parents brought up to believe that the only secure jobs are found in traditional areas such as medicine, law and teaching.

Why Ireland? Ireland, as I have stated above, has real advantages for investment over its European colleagues but it must continue to have a stable economic climate and competitive corporate tax after 2010 and it must ensure that it can continue to supply a well educated workforce to meet employment needs.