Speech by Mr. Enda Kenny, T.D. Taoiseach at the official launch of MetLife Europe Ltd’s European operations hub - on Thursday 26 February 2015

Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning.

Many thanks to Dirk, Ostijn, Head of MetLife Europe, and the MetLife team for the invitation to the launch of your new European hub and the expansion of your headquarters here in Dublin.

The expansion of MetLife from less than 10 employees and one floor in this building nine years ago to over 260 people spread over five floors today is a testament to the hard work and skill of all your employees.

Your success in using Ireland as the centre of your European operations has helped to put Ireland on the map as a gateway to Europe for insurance and other financial services. I’m delighted to hear that your expansion is driven by access to a highly skilled, quality workforce and Ireland’s business-friendly environment.

The kind of growth that MetLife is celebrating today is being reflected right across the Irish economy.

Ireland’s recovery continues to gain momentum. We are seeing impressive growth rates, which are translating into tangible impacts across the country. However, we are still very conscious that many people are still to feel the effects of recovery in their lives and this is why Government is keeping the creation of jobs at the top of its agenda.  

This will be helped by the fact the Ireland’s economy was the fastest growing in Europe last year and is expected to be again in 2015.

Our recovery plan, implemented in conjunction with the Irish people, has stabilised the national finances and returned economic stability to our economy. This year we will reduce the deficit to under 3% of GDP and we are on track to eliminate it by 2018.

New figures released yesterday have shown how we created 90,000 new jobs since we launched the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012. As a result we have almost reached our original target of creating 100,000 additional jobs by 2016.  This will be an important milestone as we work to restore all the jobs lost during the economic crisis and to reach full employment by 2018, two years ahead of schedule.

A significant help in meeting these targets is new foreign direct investment. In 2014, IDA Ireland secured 197 new investments, a mix of new investments in Ireland and companies like MetLife further expanding their presence here. These investments contributed to the 174,500 people working in IDA supported companies, which is 7,000 more than the previous year.

Much of this growth has been possible thanks to Ireland’s strong trade links with the United States. US corporations employ 127,000 people in jobs all over the country.  My Government supports an ambitious TTIP agreement, which we see as an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen Ireland’s trade relationship with the single biggest source of Foreign Direct Investment into Ireland.

I see the MetLife success story as another building block in the wider success of international financial services in Ireland, including the insurance industry.

Ireland is home to many of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers. In fact, 8 of the 9 Global Systemically Important Insurers have significant operations in Ireland.

The insurance sector is an important contributor to the Irish economy, employing 27,000 people, managing assets of €200 billion and providing net tax receipts to the exchequer of €1.6 billion.
This Government is determined to do everything we can to continue the growth of the international financial services sector here in Ireland.

In 1987, when the IFSC was first established, international financial services barely existed as an industry in Ireland. Today, over 35,000 people are now directly employed in the sector, not just in Dublin, but in centres all over the country.

Minister of State with responsibility for international financial services, Simon Harris is currently finalising the preparation of a new strategy for the sector, which will ensure that Ireland remains at the forefront of international financial services in the future.

The Government-led strategy will strengthen Ireland’s profile as a location for IFS. For Government’s part, we are setting out highly ambitious plans to grow the sector further, and we aim to significantly increase the number of people that will be employed in the sector in five years time.

The strategy covers a number of areas including more effective international marketing and branding of Ireland as a location for the industry. There will be a focus on ensuring that industry is able to make the best use of the supports provided by the public sector.

I’m sure that MetLife will be among the companies contributing for many years to the growth of the financial services sector in Ireland. Ireland’s economic recovery has been built by the hard work and innovation of companies like this.

Once again, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to be here to celebrate your success and growth, and I wish you all the very best in the future.