Ireland facing difficult future, says Ahern

Ireland faces difficult economic challenges in the period ahead, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warned today.

But he insisted, however, that his Government had a clear strategy which could continue to make the Republic competitive.

Mr Ahern said this would involve drawing on the success of the 1990s Celtic Tiger boom.

“I want to reflect on some of the lessons we can draw from the remarkable performance of the Irish economy over the past decade or so,” he said.

“The slowdown of the recent past has overshadowed it.

“But I believe the success that we achieved provides a clue to the competitive elements which an appropriate strategy, vigorously led, should now aim to provide.”

“Clearly progress over the last couple of years has been slower,” the Taoiseach told the IMI National Management Conference in Killarney.

“But let us be very clear, the Irish economy has performed extraordinarily well by comparison with our European and international partners.”

He said the economy had performed significantly better than many others in terms of output, exports, jobs and public finances, adding: “There is much about our present situation which our partners truly envy.”

However, Mr Ahern admitted there were many vulnerabilities in Ireland’s present situation.

He said there was no doubt the Republic had lost competitiveness through increased operating costs and slower productivity.