Address by Minister McGuinness at a Financial Software and Services Networking dinner organised by Enterprise Ireland

Wednesday 14 November 2007

I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet with you at this networking dinner for Ireland’s leading financial software and services companies and their British guests. And I would like to express my thanks to our Ambassador, His Excellency David Cooney, and his dedicated colleagues here at the Irish Embassy for hosting this occasion.

We are greatly honoured that our guests this evening represent a cross section of some of the leading corporate names in British industry. We have with us senior representatives from five of the world’s ten largest investment banks, and three of Britain’s largest retail institutions, as well as leading global payment services providers, asset managers and insurers.

I think it’s fair to say that your presence at this dinner testifies to the high reputation and success of Irish financial services software companies in the British market. Britain is the largest IT market in Europe and is recognised as being one of the most demanding and highly competitive arenas in the world for IT product and service suppliers. This makes the achievements of Irish companies in winning business here all the more impressive.

The development of Ireland’s software industry is one of the most striking examples of Ireland's emergence as an international high tech centre. Software is one of Ireland’s most important and fast-expanding industries, comprising over 800 multinational and Irish-owned software companies, with combined annual exports well in excess of ST£8 billion. This makes Ireland one of the world’s top three leading producers and exporters of software.

Within the Irish-owned sector, financial services is Ireland’s most mature and successful cluster. The 19 Irish software and services companies who are with us this evening exemplify the strength and diversity of the sector. Their offerings range from insurance, card and payment services to technology solutions around network latency, market data and operational risk and knowledge management.

Ireland has become a leading software centre because it has the key characteristics of today’s high tech, customer-led business – an innovative, knowledge-led culture, inherent capability, an entrepreneurial drive and an experience that has been shaped by the demand for adaptability and customisation. Irish software companies have been winning business because they are fundamentally driven by market led requirements, and this is demonstrated by the ability to meet customer needs with a strategic direction.

Innovation and technology are key drivers in today’s Irish economy and are right at the top of the national agenda. There has been an unprecedented level of investment by the Irish Government in science and technology in order to create a vibrant and well-supported research community, giving a substantial resource for technology solutions and the basis for a stream of new software products and solutions from existing companies and new technology-based start-ups.

Over the lifetime of the Ireland’s National Development Plan 2007–2013, we are investing the equivalent of ST£5.7 billion in science, technology and innovation. This will bring Ireland into line with R&D performance in the top performing countries and will further enhance the development of our knowledge-based economy.

Innovation is about the ability to successfully meet these rapid changes with market and customer-led solutions. We believe that innovation will be the single greatest enabler of the continued success of Irish companies in competitive markets.

Last week, Enterprise Ireland introduced its strategy, Transforming Irish Industry 2008-2010, which builds on the strong progress we have made in recent years and addresses the increasing pace of globalisation and international competition. A key component of this strategy is to boost the level of exports from the internationally traded services sector. To this end, Enterprise Ireland has established a new Internationally Traded Services Division, within which the development of new financial services and outsourcing providers will make a critical contribution to accelerated export growth. The aim is to ensure that Irish firms develop robust growth strategies, underpinned by market leadership, scale, a highly innovative culture and a drive for efficiency and productivity.

Enterprise Ireland works with software and services companies to help them win business in Britain and around the world. It also works closely with UK companies interested in gaining competitive advantage through technology. In this respect, Enterprise Ireland is a strategic partner to both British companies and Irish clients, bringing the two together for mutual benefit. And that is the spirit that brings us here this evening.

Occasions such as this provide the stimulus for building relationships that can create step change. So, let me conclude by wishing you a very enjoyable and productive evening. I hope that during the course of the evening you will build on the business relationships you have already made, leading to new business opportunities for both Irish companies and their UK partners.

ENDS/TC304