TK WHITAKER was in many ways the true founder of the American Chamber of Commerce, according to the current president of the association.
At a dinner last night in the Convention Centre, Dublin, to mark 50 years of the association Gerard Kilcommins described Mr Whitaker as a “visionary civil servant” who persuaded the government of the time to seize Ireland’s opportunities.
In 1956, Dr Whitaker was appointed secretary general of the department of finance at age 39. He subsequently became governor of the Central Bank and was known as a leader in Ireland’s programme of trade liberalisation in the 1960s
“In many ways he can be described as the true founder of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland for, without him, I doubt if we would be here tonight,” Mr Kilcommins said.
A special presentation was made to Dr Whitaker last night by the American Chamber of Commerce at the 50th anniversary gala dinner which was attended by Taoiseach Brian Cowen and various representatives from the US multinational community in Ireland.
In an upbeat speech to members, Mr Kilcommins said Ireland was now better placed than it was during previous crises to handle the challenges which faced the Republic.
“Recent cost reductions and productivity gains have seen Ireland’s exports reach new highs. In 2010, Irish exports grew to €161 billion, the highest export figure ever recorded. Exports in 2011 are predicted to grow to 7.2 per cent. This is all tremendous news for the Irish economy. It’s just a pity it doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves.”
While welcoming the fact that Ireland’s competitiveness was improving, he stressed that there needed to be a “continued focus” on improving competitiveness if Ireland was to meet its economic challenges.
“Our strengths remain our competitive tax regime, the quality of our education system and the skills and ‘can do’ attitude of our people. We must not lose focus on these.”
Pointing out that foreign direct investment accounted for €110 billion, or almost 70 per cent, of total exports in the Irish economy, Mr Kilcommins said the announcements this week of further investment by international companies Google, PayPal and American Medical Systems underlined the “many positives” in the economy.
