Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to have the opportunity this evening to pay tribute to the enormous contribution of the social partners to Ireland's economic and social development.
Social Partnership is a uniquely Irish process. As with so much else in this country, its success is based around flexibility, informality and personal relationships. While formal institutions are important, the commitment and quality of the people involved is what really matters and it is important that this is properly acknowledged.
Some of you, like myself, have been around since the beginning, way back in 1987. I am particularly pleased to see some familiar faces from those early days, as well as the many stalwarts of Social Partnership today.
I remember vividly the exasperation and despair that hung like a dark cloud over this country in the mid to late 80s. I was Minister of Labour back then, at a time when our economy was teetering on the brink of collapse.
We had record levels of unemployment; little or no job creation; crippling Government debt; and stagnant levels of growth. Ireland had become trapped in a kind of vicious circle, with no obvious means of escape.
In that situation, it would have been all too easy for each of us to stay within our comfort zones and blame others for the problems we faced, while trying to go it alone in the search for solutions. I always believed, however, that there was another, more constructive, way forward – one which focused on developing a shared understanding of the challenges we faced as a country and agreeing on the steps needed to bring us back from the precipice.
Thankfully, this was a vision which was shared by many of the key economic and social actors at that time. Together, we embarked on a journey into the unknown, in the interests of securing a better future for Ireland. I am deeply grateful for the leadership, conviction and commitment to stretching the boundaries of the possible, shown by everyone involved in those early negotiations.
We can look back now at the first social partnership agreement – the Programme for National Recovery – as a real watershed moment in Ireland’s social and economic history. Under partnership, economic growth resumed; inflation declined; employment began to grow; and our budget deficit improved.
And we went on, through partnership, to bring about a radical transformation of our economic and social fortunes. To a point where, to quote a comprehensive analysis of the Celtic Tiger published by the ESRI last year:
“Subjective well-being and national morale are amongst the highest in Europe; living standards have risen and have done so for more or less everyone; jobs have become astonishingly abundant and have improved in quality; people are now flocking into rather than out of the country; young adults are forming couples and having children at an exemplary rate by rich country standards; and people are physically healthier and, as far as we can tell …. generally feel good about their lives and the society around them.”
While problems certainly persist, and we undoubtedly face some more difficult times in the near future, Social Partnership has delivered for the Irish people. You, as social partners, working with the Government, have delivered for the Irish people.
Of course, no one is claiming that all this progress is solely due to Social Partnership – but it has been the common factor underpinning Ireland’s transformation since 1987. Some people dismiss social partnership as "tired", "stale" or "no longer relevant". I could not disagree more. Social partnership has shown a remarkable capacity for innovation over the years.
For example, it was opened up to include the Community and Voluntary Sector, thereby ensuring a voice at the table for the most vulnerable in our society. A more recent innovation was the agreement on a ten-year partnership framework under Towards 2016, providing us with the long-term perspective necessary to address difficult economic and social challenges. And this process of evolution and innovation will continue into the future, as it must. I know, for example, that consideration will be given, in the course of the Review of Towards 2016, to the question of arrangements for representing environmental issues in social partnership.
We have grown a lot stronger in twenty one years of Social Partnership. We now have a much better capacity for policy analysis and evaluation, in particular through the National Economic and Social Development Office. We have a public service culture based on consultation and dialogue, while still retaining the capacity for flexible decision-making. Above all, we have a much greater confidence in ourselves – and trust in each other. All of this will stand to us in the years ahead.
Like every society, Ireland confronts some major challenges in a fast-changing world. In particular, our response to globalisation and climate change will go a long way to determining the type of society in which our children and grandchildren live.
This long-term perspective, as well the shorter-term international financial crisis, will inform the current review of Towards 2016. I fully recognise that each Social Partner Pillar has valid concerns: including competitiveness challenges in the business and agriculture sectors; inflationary pressures; an upward trend in unemployment; and expectations for better public services.
However, my message to you is simple: it is in all our interests to understand each others’ positions and agree on how we can work together on behalf of all the people we represent, rather than wasting our energy fighting amongst ourselves. That, surely, is the real lesson of all those years of Social Partnership. The bottom line, in my view, is that partnership has delivered "wins" for all sides over the years and remains more likely to deliver positive results than any free-for-all alternative. And I would urge all sides to think very carefully before abandoning a system that has helped to give Ireland a real competitive advantage over the past twenty one years.
While some commentators are quick to dismiss our social partnership model, I was always struck by the level of interest of Prime Ministers, business leaders and trade unionists from all over the world in our system. They understand the benefits that the consensus and joint-problem solving at the heart of partnership can deliver, in an increasingly complex and competitive world.
Indeed, I am proud that some aspects of our Social Partnership model have informed thinking within the European Union. The concept of National Reform Partnerships was adopted by the EU during our Presidency in 2004 and I often remind my EU colleagues of the positive experience of social dialogue in Ireland.
Still on matters European, I would like to say a few words about the forthcoming referendum on the EU Reform Treaty. I have no doubt you are all very well aware of how beneficial our membership of the European Union has been.
The Reform Treaty will serve to enhance and improve the functioning of the Union; support economic growth, job creation, international trade and environmental sustainability; speed up decision making; and give us a Union more responsive to citizens.
Importantly, the Treaty will also give effect to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and expressly identifies the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, which underpin the Union.
The European Union delivers for Ireland. It provides us with an opportunity to stand together with partners who share our values. It is central to our capacity to deal with global issues such as climate change, energy security or cross-border crime.
The time has come to equip the Union with the tools it needs to do its business in a more effective way. This is what the Treaty is about. It deserves our strong support.
On this occasion, I would also like to acknowledge the role many of you have played in securing a lasting peace on this island. Relationships between Social Partners on both sides of the border have supported the political progress of recent years; and they will play an increasingly important role as economic and social co-operation strengthens more in the future.
I know that social partnership brings many responsibilities. I have always been keenly aware that many of you have had to take risks and show strong leadership within your own sectors. I would like to thank you most sincerely for seeing through the hard times, when it might have seemed easier to walk away; and to pay tribute to your commitment to making social partnership a real success story for Ireland.
Before concluding, I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all the very best for the latest round of negotiations, now underway. For my part, I will certainly miss the buzz around Government Buildings when the talks are edging toward a conclusion! That said, there are some things I will definitely not miss! – the late night contacts; the lost weekends; and the process of attrition where the parties gradually wear each other down!
I am very proud of how far this country has progressed in the last twenty one years. Everyone here can take some of the credit for those achievements. I wish you all well with the current negotiations and sincerely hope that Social Partnership will continue to serve the Irish people as well over the next twenty one years.
Thank you again for your efforts and for your support over the years. I would like to wish you all every success and every happiness for the future.
Thank you very much.
ENDS.