Economic growth - Businesses need help to succeed

WITH good news as rare as hen’s teeth nowadays, it is heartening to learn that the latest export figures show our export industry is burgeoning.

While one swallow may not make a summer, the Central Statistic Office figures put the value of Irish goods sold abroad in December at more than €7.2 billion, a 21% increase compared to a year earlier.

The figures confirm that the economy is slowly recovering, a trend driven mainly but not exclusively by the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. This is further proof, if it were needed, of the fundamental importance of copper-fastening Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax rate which has been a major factor in attracting multinational companies to locate here.

Underlying the columns of statistical data, the really welcome news is that while nearly 340,000 people are unemployed and as our youngest and brightest emigrate in droves, thousands of other workers are still in well-paid jobs and making a good living.

Against the general backdrop of despair, the performance of the export sector is most encouraging. While the full picture for 2010 has yet to be drawn, the indications are that a 7% rise could hit €45bn compared to 2009 when Ireland’s export growth ranked as the second lowest in the EU.

Despite the mood of despondency currently pervading the domestic economy, the export sector remains the brightest spot on the industrial landscape. So robust is the medical and pharmaceutical business that exports to key markets in the US, Belgium, Germany, and Britain have outstripped the previous year’s healthy performance.

Nor is success confined to this highly specialised area of manufacturing. The indigenous food industry is also thriving. Arguably, the economic difficulties lend urgency to plans to revitalise such agencies as Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and Tourism Ireland which have key roles in creating and retaining jobs.

Illustrating what can be achieved with a dynamic marketing programme, one of our more traditional products, Jameson whiskey, recently reached record sales levels, passing the three million case mark for global sales during 2010. The iconic brand is now a leading seller in the cutthroat markets of US, Russia, Ukraine and Canada, as well as at home.

The latest export figures demonstrate that with the right kind of policies, the economy has the capacity to recover and continue to grow in the future. But there is no magic wand.

As leading commentators have emphasised, what industry needs from the incoming Government are swift action to address competitiveness issues plus measures aimed at reducing input costs, cutting away unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, accelerating job creation and introducing imaginative ways to ensure jobs are retained.

Instead of putting obstacles in the way of indigenous entrepreneurs and small businesses, the new administration must introduce policies designed to help them succeed and prosper so that Ireland’s economy can get back on track.