Pragmatic leadership is needed now but Ireland must wait for Government to form

In the wake of last weekend’s election it seems that we will have to wait for an extended period before a Government is formed to enact policy decisions for Ireland.

In that period the entire economy has to get on with life and work that helps pay bills and creates opportunities for those who work and want to work.

It might be no harm to focus on tangible issues that need to be addressed in political discussions.

This is especially true for Munster and Cork where economic momentum has commenced over the last two years.

That is evidenced by high-profile job announcements from global corporations like Apple and Tyco, and boots on the ground by construction companies like the Cleary and O’Callaghan businesses.

It is very tempting to be dragged into a spectator sport around politics and ridicule or laugh at the unfolding drama that has commenced.

However, each and every one of those new TDs have to bear the collective responsibility to signal what type of environment they are offering for employers contemplating expansion in Ireland.

This week we should assume that a broad number of companies are considering Ireland as a base from which to do business.

That group ranges from highly sophisticated international companies to small enterprises run by local entrepreneurs.

What are the messages being sent to them about how welcoming Ireland now is for incremental investments that can sustain economic growth, boost job creation and, in so doing, swell the size of tax revenues for use by the political system?

Here are a few ideas about what I imagine leaders with control over investment need to hear.

Firstly, Ireland wants to continue attracting globally mobile investment that can deliver thousands of incremental jobs across a broad group of sectors including IT, pharmaceuticals, agri-food, and services.

To attract this type of investment, which will benchmark Ireland against competing locations, some clear flags have to be flown; (1) the 12.5% corporate tax rate is a long term cornerstone of policy; (2) personal tax rates at all income levels will at least match those of competing locations; (3) the need for urgent actions to address affordable housing is recognised, and; (4) infrastructural investment to underpin economic growth is hard-wired in to the political classes.

This menu of items may seem bland but contain the need for deep rooted and radical thinking.

Moves to ignite a wave of affordable housing is probably the one piece of the jigsaw that seems a no-brainer for enlightened politicians in my mind presently.

Ireland is blessed with a demography made up of a large young family-forming cohort that is simply not in existence in much larger economies that are struggling with an aging population.

That younger profile creates future employees and generations of economically important groups as they grow up through the education and employment layers of Irish society.

Building the houses to accommodate these people is, itself, an economic stimulant that creates jobs within the domestic economy.

We have ample quantities of land on which such houses can be built.

Despite these huge advantages we seem to be locked in a morass of red tape, poor tax structures and absolute house prices that don’t work for young employees and families.

Solving the housing dilemma is a real job for a real leader.

That leader should bring together, without fanfare, a tight group of relevant experts who understand the difference between dust gathering reports and a time lined action list.

That review should move us from the weird and unsatisfactory status of underbuilding to a programme of fast tracked construction of a swathe of homes that are safe and priced at rates that give young families in decent jobs the prospect of working in Cork while financing their homes with a reasonable percentage of their take-home pay.

That formula is missing at present but holds the prospect of unlocking further economic advances if delivered by pragmatists rather than publicists.

Joe Gill is director of corporate broking with Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal.

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