merrion street

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,

Today is a good day for Ireland and in particular for the northeast.

PayPal is announcing the creation of 1,000 extra jobs over the next 4 years.

I am delighted that PayPal is making such an important and major investment in Ireland.

It is the type of investment that is encouraged by the presence of a stable and investment friendly environment. This Government has played its part in creating this environment by working hard to address the banking and fiscal problems that it inherited.

Ireland is now a stable and safe location for investment which allows companies such as PayPal to plan for the future with confidence.

Today’s announcement is also a clear recognition of the talented and highly skilled workforce in the region who I know will welcome today’s news.

On recent visits to Dundalk and Drogheda it was made perfectly clear that they desired the same as the rest of the country, jobs, investment, hope.

I would like to thank Louise Phelan for inviting me today.

I would also like congratulate her on the Trojan work she has carried out on in driving forward the company’s growth agenda and job creation plans.

The company is a success because its premise is simple and well executed, making it easier for people to buy and trade online. It is the embodiment of business innovation.

I see the experience of PayPal in Ireland as something the Government wants to replicate. The company in Ireland has grown from a small operation of 25 staff in 2003 to its current 1,350 employees. And now it will create an additional 1000 jobs.

That is a phenomenal success story and we are very proud to be part of it.

As the economy recovers we want to attract in new companies to establish operations in Ireland. Once established here companies will experience first-hand the stable pro-enterprise and pro-job environment and they can have the confidence to invest further and scale up their operations.

I am delighted PayPal has made this vote of confidence in Ireland. It is important that we acknowledge and promote our strengths as others do.

It is incredible to think that in the space of two weeks one current Vice President and one former President of two most powerful nations in the world praised Ireland for its efforts and promoted the opportunities of investing in Ireland.

Ireland can become the gateway of the superpowers into Europe. The meeting point between East and West.

But we need to work hard to capitalise on these opportunities.

That is why last week, I launched our ambitious Action Plan on Jobs.

The plan will drive change across Government to prioritise action in growth sectors in the economy such as financial services, life sciences and ICT. The plan will also drive improvements in our competitiveness which will benefit all businesses operating in Ireland and promote further job creation.

One mark of success of the Plan is that there will be many more announcements like that being made today.

This announcement is a clear endorsement of PayPal’s commitment to Ireland and to job creation here.

We look to companies like PayPal and other successful companies for lessons in how to recognise and seek opportunities in a changing global economy.

I would like to acknowledge the work of the IDA for the support they provided Paypal in its expansion.

This is a great day for PayPal and for Ireland and I look forward to sharing many more days like this with you in the coming weeks and months.

Thank you.