DCC has received The Irish Times/PA Consulting Group Management Award for 2001, the 25th year of the competition which recognises excellence in the application of modern management thinking and techniques.

Presenting the award in the National Gallery in Dublin last night, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said DCC had demonstrated the management skills on which the Irish economy depended. He said it was an extremely strong company and this was reflected in its results for the first half of this year.

"DCC is a fine example of the success we in Ireland have been striving to achieve and the reasons why we can remain confident in the strength of our economy," he said. The Taoiseach also said the Government remained committed to investment in the key areas of infrastructure under the National Development Plan.

DCC received the award for exhibiting sustained business performance, enhanced strategic thinking and increased competitiveness and growth over the past three to five years.

Accepting the award, Mr Jim Flavin, chief executive and deputy chairman of DCC, said: "I'm very pleased to accept this very prestigious Irish Times/PA Management Award on behalf of all the management team in the DCC group. We have close to 4,000 employees, of which approximately 200 are senior managers, and I stand here today as their proxy. They are a very committed and talented group and I am very fortunate to lead them."

Mr Paul O'Neill, Finance Editor of The Irish Times, said the award was founded in 1977 to recognise excellence in management and business success. "In short, it is not a question of being the biggest or the loudest but simply the best," he added.

He said the volume and quality of the entries must give confidence that whatever the outside influences, there were companies of sufficient calibre to see the State through the economic downturn. And, given recent events, The Irish Times had a vested interest in seeing such positive developments coming to pass.

The country head of PA Consulting, Dr Michael Maguire, said that, despite the economic downturn, the Irish economy was still robust. "There is no denying either that setbacks are now affecting our own domestic economy as some people lose their jobs, Exchequer revenues contract and business confidence suffers a dip," said Dr Maguire. "But we must keep a sense of perspective. Compared to the first year of this award, the Irish economy is truly a global player and is now highly competitive; we need no reminding that for most of the past decade Ireland has had the fastest growing economy in the OECD, let alone the European Union.

"Of course, we are a very open economy, heavily reliant on international trade and foreign investment, and therefore more susceptible to global downturns. But the home market now is substantially bigger, more productive and a lot wealthier than it was a quarter of a century ago."

Dr Maguire paid tribute to the commitment of the Taoiseach to the implementation of the Belfast Agreement which he said was critical to the economic welfare of the island. "I earnestly hope that the recent move forward of the Northern Ireland Executive will make a new beginning - away from the uncertainties of start/stop politics," said Dr Maguire.

Cross-Border trade was worth just more than £2 billion (€2.54 billion) and there was significant scope for growing business to the benefit of both economies as a result of the peace process, Dr Maguire said.

Launched in 1977, The Irish Times/PA Management award gives public recognition to organisations that achieve outstanding results through excellence of management practice. The competition is open to organisations thro-ughout Ireland, with the objective of rewarding outstanding performers in industry, commerce and public administration. The award is made to an enterprise that has generated outstanding results through a strategic, driven and innovative style of management.

The winner receives a bronze of an Artic tern, sculpted by Oisin Kelly and cast each year for the presentation ceremony.

The judges for this year's awards were: Mr Philip Lynch, chief executive, IAWS Group plc; Mr Liam Nellis, chief executive of InterTradeIreland; Mr Michael O'Keeffe, managing director, Stratus Technologies Ireland, and vice-president of Stratus Technologies; and Mr Jerry Liston, executive chairman, the Michael Smurfit School of Business, UCD.