We have the people and policies for recovery

LAST week an Irish aircraft leasing company, established just two years ago, managed to secure a $300 million (€219m) equity investment from the investment arm of the Singapore government.

Avolon was created by a small group of Irish managers and was backed initially by international private equity investors.

Together, they put $3.7bn to work (equity and debt) to create a fleet of 88 commercial aircraft that are now all deployed with airlines across the world.

Just think about the conditions under which this company has grown. Its home economy was thrown in to utter turmoil after 2008, culminating in IMF occupation during 2010.

It was surrounded by plenty of pundits who argued the Avolon aircraft leasing model would not work and, more perniciously, the Irish economy was doomed and could find no way back from collapse.

Both of these contentions have been nailed through vision, leadership and dynamism displayed by a small group of executives working from a Dublin office.

This story needs to be read by all those who believe Ireland has the capacity and skills to dig its way out of the debt hole in to which it was dropped.

It is so much easier to outline a raft of reasons why Ireland is finished. I’ve grown tired of hearing and reading that narrative which is pedalled by self promotion experts who have never created a single job in our economy. Yet, that doomsday attitude has become weaved in to the fabric of Irish society as a “truth” which apparently only a fool would deny. Avolon’s leaders are no fools.

Aside from Avolon, a series of important global technology companies have made strategic investments in Ireland of late.

The IDA is doing Trojan work in counteracting the obvious challenges posed by IMF control and the ongoing threat of our European partners imposing higher corporate taxes on this country. By securing a fat pipeline of new foreign direct investment projects the IDA is actually strengthening our arguments with Europe.

Job creation, confidence and economic growth are essential elements for our programme of recovery. A succession of new investments, and associated job creation, is key to that process.

So, roll forward a couple of years and imagine we have removed the yoke of the IMF. To do so we must adjust our cost of doing business, prove an ability to attract internationally significant investment projects, and materially cut the debt pile lying on top of us. If progress is made on all three fronts it is essential that key lessons are learnt.

The scars of the past three years will, hopefully, be felt for at least the next three generations. That implies that (1) our public service costs are always benchmarked and managed against the best in class across Europe, (2) individuals adopt conservative attitudes to personal debt, and spend what they can afford and not what they are offered (3) our Government continues to nurture a pro-investment strategy towards the private sector, and retains a sensitive ear to policy changes needed to keep us hyper competitive while keeping its own balance sheet clean.

The speed at which a company like Avolon can go from a paper plan to a success should inspire those who despair about Ireland.

We have the toolkit of people and policies that can find a pathway for all of us to travel. If it works, not only should we hope to stabilise our economy but to also staunch the sickening flow of emigration that has re-emerged since 2009.

Joe Gill is director of research with Bloxham Stockbrokers.