O’Brien: Stand up and fight against recession
“This country is not going to bend its knee like in the past; instead we will stand our ground and take on our challenges and like the Munster rugby team we are going to stand up and fight,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said the good thing about what has happened is that our economic circumstances will be for the benefit of our society at large, as “conspicuous consumption and materialism will be passe and non pc”.
“We need to be more like the Munster rugby team that shows everyone respect… but absolutely no fear,” he added.
Everybody just needs to keep going and be positive, he said, adding the country is a far cry from 1845-47 and 1987.
“We now have a far more developed economy and as a result, the share of tax revenue required to meet debt repayments is way lower than in the 1980s, even taking into account the large deficits this year and going forward into 2010,” he outlined.
He said that across the country we have much more management ability and a lot of people have capital whereas all they had in the late 1980s was their ability and their wits but no capital. “We sometimes as Irish managers, have an inferiority complex when it comes to taking on the big boys in our industry. My experience is that Irish managers are the best in the world, they learn fast but more importantly they can adapt rapidly to changing circumstances in the market and how to operate in new cultures.”
Mr O‘Brien said that as far as he’s concerned we are not witnessing the end of capitalism.
“We still live in times of great opportunity that will require courage and conviction for us all to succeed. Tonight I am going to try and break out of the prevailing doom and gloom that is on people’s minds and spend the next number of minutes talking about opportunity,” he said.
However, he said he would be controversial: “Our indigenous industries, with some exceptions, have not been significant contributors to the Irish economy over the last 10 years. In fact, exports by indigenous companies have not really grown in real terms over this period. Instead foreign direct investment has been the main driver of the Irish economy driven by the very attractive cash and tax incentives introduced in the late 1980s.
“I know it’s a surprise to many people that Irish indigenous companies are not coming fully up to the plate. But a contributing factor is that a lot of entrepreneurs have sold their businesses way too early instead of converting their businesses into the next Irish multi-national. It’s human nature that, having struggled with a business and suddenly seeing its financial value become a reality there is a tendency to take the money and have an easier life,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said he tells his children we are in a recession.
“It’s a great excuse to rein them in; even my four-year-old gets it,” he said.
To conclude the eveningsoprano Cara O’Sullivan gave a rousing rendition of the Munster anthem Stand Up and Fight at the end of Mr O’Brien’s speech.
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