Taoiseach’s Speech at the National Economic Dialogue (NED) 2024

Check against delivery

Dia dhaoibh, a chairde,

It’s a pleasure to be here to open this year’s National Economic Dialogue. I would like to thank Minister McGrath, Minister Donohoe and their officials for organising the event. And I would also like to thank Professor Carol Newman for serving as our chair – our rapporteurs, members of the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight, and all participants who have come to share their perspectives.

At the outset, it’s worth restating that the Irish economy and the public finances are in good health. Figures released by the CSO last Thursday show that we have a record number of people at work at just over 2.7 million. Female participation in the labour market is amongst its highest ever levels, and job growth is taking place in every region. Alongside this, inflation is moderating with a marked downward trend since last year, and real wages should grow again this year. But we know that a strong economy has to translate into tangible benefits for our people. Right now, I know people are still hurting. Cost of living increases have left them feeling their personal finances are insecure and might not withstand any further shocks. We need to give them a sense of security that the government get this.

Therefore, I believe the cost of living must once again be a focus for Budget 2025, building on the cost-of-living measures in the previous two years. Already we have reduced out of pocket childcare costs by 50% overall when compared to 2022 levels. We have taken bold steps on the provision of free schoolbooks at primary school level and are in the process of extending this to the junior cycle years in public post primary schools. For third level students, we have seen fee reductions in the last two Budgets, increases to student grant income thresholds, increases to all non-adjacent maintenance rates, and one-off cost of living measures. Budget 2024 provided the largest social welfare package in the history of the State – with increases across core social welfare payment rates and almost €2.3 billion in measures to assist households with the cost of living. In the coming budget, we must ensure we provide the extra funding required to keep pace with the expanding population and a cost of living and welfare package that protects the most vulnerable. Income tax bands and credits must again be properly indexed so that people do not drift into the higher rate band of income tax. But the budget will also be about reforming the way we do things. For the first time, we will put away money in the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. We are making fundamental reforms to our social protection system with the introduction of a new Pay-Related Jobseeker’s Benefit. This will bring Ireland in line with other EU countries and will ensure that people with a strong work history receive enhanced benefits if they lose their employment – this is only fair. And we are progressing the biggest reform for pension coverage in the history of the State with the introduction of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System.

The job of Government is to get the balance right across the range of economic measures we take. Ultimately, we need a strong economy based on thriving businesses – big and small – to fund the continued expansion of the Irish State. We recognise that some parts of the economy, in particular small businesses, are struggling to absorb rising costs and challenging trading circumstances. On my election as Taoiseach, I promised I would deliver a package for small business and we have done that. In the coming budget, we will build on that package for business, and I look forward to engaging closely with businesses and their representative organisations ahead of Budget 2025.

So, our strong economy has to mean something in the here and now, around the kitchen tables and on the shop floors, in pockets and bank accounts, and it has to mean something bigger. My vision for Ireland is a country where all children are given an equal chance, where we break down the barriers to education, where we give people the security of home ownership and the certainty of dignity in ill health and old age. A country where we realise a fair, caring, tolerant and diverse society, founded on the strong economy and full employment. We can underpin this societal aspiration by setting an overarching goal. I set that ambition at our Child Poverty Summit last week and I am telling you today we will make Ireland the best country in Europe to be a child. This will be Ireland’s moon shot, if you will, and it will be the guiding focus of everything I do.

When I addressed the Dáil after being appointed as Taoiseach last month, I spoke about how now is the moment to build a new social contract, one which renews our promise as a Republic to create equality of opportunity, to support those who need the State the most and to protect our hard-earned economic success and use its benefits to deliver tangible outcomes to society. The ambition of this government is to ensure each citizen has accessible and affordable health care, housing, education, access to childcare and disability services, upskilling opportunities, and a dignified retirement. We have started this work with the reforms to our social protection and pensions system, with our investment in childcare and education, and with the record levels of investment being provided to our public services.

The improvement of disability services is a key focus for me and this government. I am acutely aware of the current challenges in children’s disability services and the difficulties in meeting the demand. This has a profound impact on children and their families. That is why I have established a new Cabinet Committee on Children and Education and Disability. Our focus is a new National Disability Strategy, which will set out a blueprint for the further realisation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Ratification of the Optional Protocol will be advanced this year. This government is also committed to healthcare that is accessible and affordable for all. This is a central tenet of Sláintecare and we will continue to progress its implementation, alongside prioritising mental health services, and bringing about a step-change in how we care for our older people including through responding to the work of the Commission on Care for Older People.

If we are to maintain the strength of our economy, future proof our society, and provide opportunities for our people, it is vitally important we improve public infrastructure in all its forms – whether it’s public transport, roads, water, or the energy grid. Housing is the biggest concern for our people right across the country. It’s also a pressing economic and competitiveness concern. In the first four months of this year, we have seen over 30,000 homes go to construction. That’s 350 new homes starting every working day. Now that we’re seeing supply ramping up, we need to ask what more can we do to reach my ambition of building 250,000 homes over the next five years. So I very much welcome the Housing Commission’s report setting out its 83 recommendations. We estimate about three-quarters of the recommendations are already implemented, underway or partially underway. We will examine them in detail and progress as many of them as we can. As I’ve said before, no option is off the table when it comes to housing. We’re in the business of looking for more ideas, more novel approaches, more innovative ways to continue to increase housing supply. Again, more money helps, but it’s about so much more that. It means increasing the capacity of the construction sector, attracting more workers to the sector, being more efficient and productive, and promoting innovation, including Modern Methods of Construction. The State is leading by example by adopting MMC in our public housing programme. We have delivered an accelerated programme for over 1,500 new social homes across 13 local authorities using MMC. Pilot projects are underway to develop social housing using offsite three-dimensional construction methods. I am always keen to hear what more we can do to better adopt MMC and accelerate its use, and would welcome views on this today and in your pre-budget submissions.

When I appointed Minister O’Donovan last month, I asked him to prioritise labour force planning and the strategic development of the skills we need both to deliver housing in the here and now and for our future economic success. We have a skills mismatch in terms of where we need to get to on housing. Attracting additional labour to the construction sector will be essential – and I believe apprenticeships can play a central role in this. We are expanding our apprenticeship capacity and working to better align the apprenticeship system to provide the skills required for modern construction techniques and needs. The OECD Skills Strategy Assessment published last year showed that our lifelong learning rate lags behind top EU performers. We are at around 14%, while Sweden and Finland have rates of 35% and 31% respectively. The benefits of lifelong learning go well beyond a monetary value. Learning a new skill, pursuing a passion, or taking on a course you always wanted to do improves for your self-confidence and mental well-being. Skills, talent and workforce development, along with investment in research and innovation, are essential to the future success of our economy and will be critical enablers of our ambitions around artificial intelligence and climate change. So, I believe we need to unlock the National Training Fund once and for all. I know how difficult it is for a small business owner, struggling to keep the doors open, to train up staff. That’s something they need help with and I am determined to do so in Budget 2025.

I mentioned earlier the excellent jobs figures released on Thursday. We are at full employment and we hear that anyone who wants a job can get one. But I know that’s not always the case. Under-employment is a feature of the labour market and people who are locked out of employment due to a disability or other reason. As we face the prospect of labour shortages, we must identify and break down any barriers we have to unlock the hidden workforce in Ireland. We must also ensure we have a system that attracts workers from the EU and further afield. I look forward to the enactment of the long-awaited Employment Permits Bill later this year. Migration has had an incredibly beneficial impact on our labour market. Our economy is built on being open: we need workers in all sectors like agriculture, in our health service and to build homes. In all, 66,000 people have permits allowing them to work here — 21,000 of those are caring for our families in hospitals or minding our elderly in nursing homes.

Lots of things therefore are going in the right direction and that’s good. But we also always have to be able to consider new approaches and whether there are better ways than what we’ve always done. Our experience over the last few years has taught us that merely spending extra money on services does not necessarily lead to better outcomes. Too often our political discourse descends into a bidding war, where one political party or commentator says more money is the answer to the problem at hand. I put it to all of you here today that we need to re-imagine our public services and we need to think about it in four ways:

• reducing the cost of services – that is, the cost to the user and the cost to the State;
• restoring access to services – where those who need access can get it;
• rolling out additional services – to cater for the demands of a rapidly growing population; and
• redesigning services – applying the best technologies and joined-up thinking to ensure a high quality of service

When we put our minds to it, we can be the best in the world at delivering services. Look at our award-winning Passport Service. Look at the way in which we rolled out the vaccination programme during COVID-19. Common to those examples is the application of the best digital technologies and clear processes. We have the best public servants in the world but they are too often held-back by systems that do not serve them well. That’s something we in the public service – and all of us here today – need to think about. We are struggling to keep pace with a rapidly growing population. We need to right-size the State – not in per capita terms but just to keep up. That means more public servants, more spending on capital infrastructure and public services. But it must mean more than that too. Spending more and recruiting more without reform is a wasted opportunity and it leaves us exposed for a time when money might not be so plentiful. So, today, I am interested to hear your thoughts on this. Yes, as a government we will spend more – we will meet you halfway – but what else can we bring to the table to improve the quality of services that the Irish people expect and deserve? In what way should we re-shape the State as we grow? What is the right size for the State? And what is out vision for the public service?

This year we will, for the first time, have an obligation from the EU to set out a medium-term budgetary policy and expenditure path. This important development in our budgetary process is designed to help us focus on the reforms and investments we need, while managing our debt in a sustainable and growth-friendly manner over the medium term. Finite resources will need to be allocated in a sustainable and responsible way, leading to difficult choices and constraints to be overcome if we are to deliver our ambitious plans. As I said earlier, it will be essential that we reimagine the way in which we deliver services – to not just spend more but do things differently. For future generations, we will put away money in the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. But we will never lose sight of the fact that we must continue to adopt policies encourage enterprise, innovation and, in turn, extra resources. Opposition parties in the Dail tell me every day how we should spend the money but they never talk about how we can generate or sustain it. This government will work every day to ensure viable small businesses can remain open and Ireland remains an attractive place to invest in and do business. It means a constant focus on our competitiveness and the right investment in energy, water, housing and public transport to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population.

I look forward to working with many of you here in this room over the next few weeks and months as we prepare for Budget 2025.

And I look forward to discussing some of the questions I posed in my speech today.

I know we share many objectives but might differ on how to get there. That’s the benefit of a day like today.

Go raibh maith agaibh.