Taoiseach Enda Kenny has finished his two-day visit to the United States, which aimed to enhance business links between the two countries.
Ireland would “vigorously defend” its position on corporation tax which was being challenged by other countries, Mr Kenny told the Mayo Society Annual Ball at Westlake, near Cleveland, Ohio last night.
He told the audience that the State’s 12.5 per cent corporation tax would continue to remain “at the heart” of the strategy to attract foreign direct investment.
Employment had not come from Government spending but from “creating an environment that fosters more exports and investment”, he said.
The “hard sacrifices” being made by the Irish people were “delivering results”, he said.
Mr Kenny said t he would be aiming to make progress on a comprehensive trade agreement between the European Union and the United States when Ireland assumed the EU presidency in January.
Mr Kenny’s visit included a series of engagements in Philadelphia and Cleveland.
It is his sixth visit to the US since becoming Taoiseach and underlines the extent to which the Government hopes foreign investment will help kick-start the economy.
