Introduction
Thank you very much for your invitation to officially open this wonderful new home for the Hibernian Group.
I know that moving to these new headquarters is an exciting time for Hibernian. For the first time, it brings together all 1,500 Dublin based staff from across Hibernian’s financial services. This is a symbolic move that sends a strong message about Aviva and Hibernian’s commitment to Ireland both as an attractive market to operate in and also as a significant presence in the international financial services community. On this important occasion for your organisation, I would like to wish Stuart Purdy every success in his new position as Group Chief Executive.
The new Hatch Street location is a reflection of both our Dublin Georgian heritage and our bright future as a modern, cosmopolitan city. Hibernian enjoys a long and distinguished history in Ireland since its establishment almost 100 years ago and I have every confidence that, as part of Aviva’s global family, the Group is facing an equally bright future.
Hibernian Group in Ireland
Hibernian Group has a long history of successful operation in Ireland, in particular in the insurance market. From those early days pre-dating even the foundation of the State, Hibernian has gone on to grow a strong market position. I am told that no less than one in four motorists who pass the building this morning are insured by Hibernian General Insurance. That said, insurance is just one of the many successful elements of the Hibernian Group’s operations.
Looking forward, Hibernian Life and Pensions offer much to be proud of as the third largest life and pensions provider in the Irish market and I would like to congratulate Hibernian on the recent success of its joint venture with AIB and the integration of Ark Life.
Financial Services Industry
Hibernian Investment Managers, one of Ireland’s leading fund management companies, is another rising star in the Irish financial services industry. A strong financial services sector in Ireland has grown from a mere concept to a critically important contributor to the economy, both in terms of employment and scale of activity. The Irish funds industry, in particular, has experienced unprecedented growth. Today, the total value of funds administered by the industry stands at about €1.25 trillion, of which some €710 billion represent Irish domiciled funds.
Ireland has positioned itself as a proven success in this era of globalisation. Relationships with global leaders like Aviva will undoubtedly play a real part in sustaining this success and in supporting our response to the new challenges of an increasingly global economy.
Building on Success
The Government’s commitment to the ongoing development of the international financial services industry is reflected in the recently launched, “Building on Success”, a strategy that plots the future direction for the industry in Ireland. The key priorities identified in the strategy concern building and embedding competitive advantage for Ireland into the future through investment in education and skills development, a clear and transparent regulatory environment and the marketing of Ireland as an attractive location for financial services.
Hibernian in the Community
Apart from the very distinguished business heritage of Hibernian, it is also appropriate to acknowledge your commitment to the community. In my time as Taoiseach, I have endeavoured to promote and support active citizenship in Ireland and I recently established a Task Force to advise the Government on the best way to do this.
At its core, active citizenship is about a sense of belonging to a community, of shared values and pride of place and country. In recent times, there has been a strong sense that the changing face of Ireland has affected how we relate to each other and to the wider community. For this reason, I would like to offer my congratulations to the Group and its staff for their contributions to the community. In particular, I would like to mention the Hibernian Volunteer Programme which has recently adopted three new charities in this area:
· the Whitefriar Street Old Folks Project;
· the Charlemont Street After School Project; and
· Age Action Ireland in Camden Street.
I know only too well how hard it is to get involved in a local project after a hard day’s work, which makes the contribution of Hibernian volunteers so impressive. I have long been of the opinion that a healthy democracy depends on the extent to which citizens engage in the issues that affect them and their communities and projects like this give me much hope for the future.
The Taskforce will be reporting back to me very shortly, and I know that one of the things they have been looking at is how we can help create these type of strong links between businesses and local community groups. Hibernian are giving a strong lead with this programme. If we could replicate your approach throughout the corporate world, it would make a huge difference to the lives of so many people right across the country.
Conclusion
I am delighted to see that Hibernian has also exercised corporate social responsibility in designing this new Headquarters by using furniture, desks and carpets that can be recycled at the end of their lifespan. In many different ways, this building represents a bright future for Hibernian Group and for the local area. I am always delighted to see close links between business and local communities and I would like to once again congratulate Hibernian for their sterling work in this regard. I wish you every success for the future.
Thank you.
ENDS