Crisis-hit Ireland has major investment openings: Ex-PM Bruton

Abu Dhabi: Former Irish Prime Minister John Bruton said yesterday that a range of opportunities was still available in crisis-hit Ireland for UAE-based investors.

Bruton, who is leading a delegation to the Gulf in his current capacity as Chairman of the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC), said the purpose of his visit was not to seek financial assistance but to draw attention to business opportunities in Ireland.

He said: "Ireland represents a gateway to financial opportunity for investors in the UAE. We are looking to draw their attention to the opportunities that are available in Ireland. We are focusing on the private sector and we want them to consider the country as a base for conducting their international operations."

The delegation's tour comes ahead of Ireland's annual budget tomorrow, which is expected to deliver tough spending cuts and tax increases as the country seeks to secure a huge multi-billion euro rescue package from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

Major mistakes

Bruton added: "I think it would be wrong for any Irishman to go abroad and minimise the problems that we face. There have been major mistakes made in terms of both the borrowing of money and the lending of money that has taken place in Ireland. People have lent money without adequate responsibility and people have borrowed that money without adequate responsibility.

"This is going to have to be put right over the foreseeable future. I would not be critical of the media for highlighting these issues but I would say to them that there are two economies in Ireland; the economy of the banks, where mistakes have been made, and the economy of exports, which is a much bigger economy. We have the capacity through export growth to meet our liabilities and return to prosperity."

Key role

Bruton served as Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland from December 1994 until June 1997 and played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process and subsequent Good Friday Agreement. In May 2010 he was appointed Chairman of IFSC Ireland, an organisation that promotes Ireland as a location for investment from the international financial services industry.

He said: "In the last few years, we have seen the economy contract from the rather excessive levels that were reached in 2006. The programme of reducing the gap between expenditure and revenue will have to be achieved no matter which party is in government. We are seeing demand beginning to pick up but we have a long road to travel."

Potential investors have the chance to hear about opportunities available in Ireland at a conference in Dubai this morning entitled "Ireland: Your Financial Services Gateway to Europe and the World".