Cork City Hall, 7 February 2025 (Check against delivery)
Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le gach aon duine a chabhraigh chun an t-imeacht iontach seo a eagrú.
It is an honour to have been asked to address you this evening. I would like to acknowledge the great work done by everyone who has organised what is always one of the most special nights of the year.
In particular, I want to thank Rob Horgan
your President and Conor Healy your Chief Executive.This is an evening to celebrate the many great things which have been achieved in our city and throughout our region over many years.
It’s for acknowledging different businesses who not only provide good employment, but who are champions of our community.
And it is also an opportunity to reflect on what lies ahead.
To look beyond the concerns of this moment and forward to what we can achieve in the future.
It is particularly appropriate that we are here in this place tonight.
We are in a hall and a wider building which has been at the heart of our community through many remarkable times.
This City Hall rose above the ashes of the building destroyed during our struggle for independence. In place of a symbol of conflict and uncertainty, came a statement of ambition and determination.
It was a defining mark of a rising community convinced that its best days were ahead.
The linking of the political, administrative, cultural and often sporting life of city in one great civic structure remains almost unique.
City Hall was built to be a place which brought people together from all walks of life. To be a place where we would plan for the future and mark the diversity of our community life.
And this is why this place has, for me and my family, played such an important role over many decades.
It was here that I was first elected to public office as a councillor and subsequently as Lord Mayor and attended countless meetings promoting the interests of the wider community I am honoured to represent. My brother also had the honour of representing our city as Lord Mayor and remains a sitting Councillor.
But its importance goes much further than that.
It was also here, in this hall, that my father fought some of his most significant bouts as a boxer and in particular one of the most high-profile fights of his time against the great Joe Bygraves.
In the late 1940’s and early 50s, boxing was a hugely popular sport and this City Hall was the main venue for regular boxing tournaments.
My father boxed for the Glen, with huge crowds attending, and in one tournament on 12th January 1941 he fought and beat Joe Bygraves who later became British and Commonwealth Heavyweight champion who knocked out Henry Cooper who of course had famously put Muhammad Ali on the canvass when Ali was at the height of his prowess.
Donal O’Keeffe of The Echo found the Examiner article covering the tournament and wrote a beautiful article recently. There were allegedly 3,000 fans in attendance and many more left outside. The reporter who was clearly irritated got in with the help of a garda. At the end of the article, he said “Martin won in what must have been a close decision”. It became a part of Cork boxing folklore and in 1985 local elections, when I knocked on doors in Ballyphehane, with all my policies in hand (I was a classic college nerd) the only question asked “was I the champ’s son” to be followed by “I was there the night he beat Bygraves”.
I raced home to change my election literature to put in big print – son of Paddy Champ Martin – and duly got elected – my first electoral lesson! In election debates to this day, just before the start, I nip out of the studio into a quiet corner and visualise that fight and draw inspiration from it.
Growing up we loved the stories of the atmosphere of this historic place, of the great characters of Cork, but also the excitement and sense of community which defined our city. A rich cultural, social, sporting and economic community, where political differences were important, but they didn’t divide you.
I have always understood the basic point that the strength of a community comes from its diversity - from people of widely different backgrounds and opinions learning to work together for a common good.
This lesson in diversity is one I saw very directly from my father and his brothers.
My Dad’s parents died when he was in his teens, one year after the other. They were born in Clankatane opposite Collins Barracks and were fairly poor.
His three bothers joined the British Army, two during WW2 and one after the war. His brother Philip was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Singapore and spent three and a half years in the infamous Shangi prison and survived weighing only 8 stone on release. Jack mapped his way safety in India and Dick joined the RAF.
Each held different political values trenchantly. Philip, a lifelong member of the British conservative party, Dick a member of the British Labour party and Jack a self-declared communist. My father, meanwhile joined Fianna Fáil. I love telling that story to Unionist friends of mine who least expect it.
I have taken many personal lessons from their story. At every point in my public career, and now as Taoiseach, I have worked every day to remember the inspiring idea that people of radically different views can and must treat each other with respect.
That we can disagree while acknowledging each other’s good faith.
And most of all, that progress and understanding comes from dialogue. Through the years in the various phases of the peace process in Northern Ireland and in advancing reconciliation on this island I have applied these early lessons.
As we can all see, this is a moment in history when the values of respect and cooperation are under sustained attack at almost every level.
It is a time when there is a constant effort to promote the politics of anger over the politics of constructive dialogue.
And too often the priority seems to be to talk about problems rather than to focus on overcoming them.
I very much understand why so many people look with despair at world events and challenges which seem to constantly grow.
Nearly every day I meet people who worry about how our country will get through these challenging times.
The look at growing conflicts, threats to democracy, falling support for shared values and ask how a small country on the edge of Europe can prosper in the light of new realities.
But let me be very clear, I have absolutely no doubt that Ireland can and will get through this moment and will advance.
We can and we will overcome the real threats which face us and nearly every other democratic country.
And the key to this is that we must understand just how many decisions remain in our own hands. We absolutely still retain the ability to shape our own future.
With urgency and ambition we can not only protect our economy and the social progress it enables, we can go much further.
Of course, we have to deal with daily issues as they arise, but we must do much better as a country in making sure that we address deep strategic challenges.
We have to create space for discussion and action away from the headlines.
Discussion and action on the investments and reforms which will strengthen the core economic and social foundations of our communities and our country.
I am absolutely determined that during my time as Taoiseach we will move the agenda to a positive and proactive one.
An agenda defined by practical steps which will protect what we value and create new opportunities for our country.
And the impact of this agenda will be felt directly here in Cork.
In shaping our future, our relationship with the European Union is vital and it must continue to evolve.
This Monday I attended a special summit of the leaders of the European Union. It was a very serious agenda which addressed three critical issues of relations with the United States, relations with the United Kingdom and the defence of democracy in Europe.
In each of these areas Ireland cannot stand to the side as an observer and I signalled my determination that the government I lead will be active, constructive and effective in working with our partners in Europe.
The area of defence has led to the most comment here, and we’ve seen time after time how any move whatsoever can get misrepresented.
On Monday I heard from other EU member states, the Baltic countries and Poland who are near Russia about just how existential it is to their future to be confronted by a destructive and aggressive force which above everything else wants to undermine democracy.
In defending themselves they are not being warlike, and Ireland must and will support Europe in helping them protect the basic values of freedom and democracy.
Defence, military and security capability is an issue we can no longer shy away from.
We have to get serious about defending our critical interests. We have to be able to monitor and protect the maritime infrastructure such as cables and gas pipelines without which our modern economy cannot function. We have to be able to address the security of our public and private cyber networks.
We don’t get to sit on the sidelines.
Getting serious about protecting ourselves and our values is a core part of how we shape a strong future for Ireland as part of the European Union.
The revolutionary role of education in enabling progress will be as important to our future as it has been to our past.
When the government led by Jack Lynch implemented free secondary education and a rapid expansion in the number of higher education students and institutions it involved a major investment at a time when resources were scarce.
It was a bold statement of faith in the Irish people – and one which has been vindicated time and again. I and my siblings are beneficiaries of that decision, being the first generation in our family to complete 2nd level education and then 3rd level.
For them the challenge was participation levels in education, for this generation the challenge is to match the pace of technological change. To ensure that we provide our young people with the skills to compete and thrive.
Artificial intelligence will not replace the need for well-educated and innovative people – in fact it will make them even more important. To be able to do those things which are truly original requires independent thinkers empowered through mastering diverse skills.
Investing in and developing our schools, colleges and universities is critical.
We have all seen the incredible role which investment in UCC and MTU, as well as other institutions has played in underpinning the growth of new industries and services. And I believe that this will be more important than ever in the future and they will have the governments support in the time ahead.
And that is why in appointing the new Minister for Higher Education, Training, Science and Innovation – James Lawless - I made it clear to him that supporting advanced learning and research in particular must be a defining priority during this government.
We cannot wait for ideas and products to come to us – we have to once again step-change our research capabilities. We have to renew our core strengths and address areas where we can have a real advantage like in food production, nano technology, cyber security and AI.
And equally we must move forward with the modernisation of our school curriculums. When our children leave school we have to make sure that their core skills and knowledge equip them for a world which continues to change radically.
To shape our future we also have to implement an urgent programme to develop sustainable, affordable and secure energy supplies.
We have to reduce our dependence on a limited range of energy sources and to understand that Ireland has to become an independent energy producer.
The development of offshore wind generation is economically and environmentally essential. Critically, it can move us close to achieving energy independence.
We need to move forward without delay to support an entirely new industry. Cork Port will play a central role in servicing this industry across much of the South coast and have secured significant funding to achieve this.
And this is one part of the wider infrastructure challenge we have to meet if we are to take control of shaping our future.
For years many have tried and failed to make the word ‘infrastructure’ exciting and motivating. But it is the essential foundation which a modern society needs to function – and if you neglect it the impact will be felt in very personal ways in lower employment, fewer houses, worse services.
We simply have to immediately and on a sustained basis increase our investments in core public infrastructure.
We have to accelerate funding and delivery of water infrastructure, of energy infrastructure, of road safety, of public transport, of educational facilities, of health facilities and of many other areas. And to do this we have to increase the level of national income which is spent on public infrastructure. In Cork, Iarnród Éireann and Cork Airport have been most adept and timely at effective delivery of infrastructure. The transformation of Kent station and the new runway at Cork Airport are exemplars in this regard.
Accelerated infrastructure spending is a fundamental part of moves I am pushing to deliver the level of housing construction our growing population urgently needs.
And so too is investment in new areas like health digitalisation. To release the full potential of modern medicine we need no less than a revolution in personal health information. One where records are comprehensive, rapidly accessible and extend treatment options. A fundamental change where patients have easy access to their personal records and these are available in ways which make sure that medical professionals don’t need to duplicate tests and can make better, faster decisions.
In this city, both ancient and modern, we have many issues which require investment, including a sustained effort to protect our city centre as a vibrant, safe and successful commercial, social and cultural centre.
The programme for government directly addresses this, and I want the task force on the city centre to set a new agenda – and to be the beginning of a new commitment to the heart of our city.
The Dockland’s redevelopment can be a model for a major investment programme which helps breath new energy into a city district, addressing housing, employment and recreation needs at the same time.
The Marina Park and Promenade are parts of a wider scheme which will leave a generational impact for the benefit of all in our community.
And a thriving, vibrant city needs a modern public transport system. The development of light rail is a priority, and one which I want to move as quickly as possible through the consultation phase to construction.
Both here and throughout our country, I am determined that the coming years will deliver a new era of support for public infrastructure which serves our communities.
To take control and shape its future Ireland also has to become an even stronger advocate for the mutual benefits of trade.
The fact is that decades of freer trade has enabled the greatest period of rising prosperity and falling poverty ever recorded in world history.
Here in Cork and throughout Ireland we can see the benefit of opening up to the world – competing on the basis of fair and transparent rules. We have gone from being a regional economy to a genuinely global one.
For too long some have tried to paint freer trade as part of a conspiracy against ordinary people – a race to the bottom. The reality is that freer trade has benefitted everyone. It has been the most pro-employment, pro-rising living standards policy ever enacted.
In every forum available to us we have to speak up in defence of trade. We have to confront trade-denialism.
Where we can negotiate agreements which are good for jobs and prosperity in Ireland, we need to ratify them – starting with the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement.
And we also have to redouble our efforts to open up new markets for large and small enterprises alike. This includes the need to invest in reducing the costs of getting goods to market. Developing our port facilities, and the networks which link with them must be a national priority.
And concerning our relations with the United States, let us never forget that we have a fraternal bond which is older than our state. Our social and cultural connections are resilient. Our economic links are deep and mutually beneficial.
For American companies we not only provide a pro-enterprise and highly skilled environment in which to develop, we are an essential bridge to a bigger and lucrative European market. As many of the companies represented here tonight know, Ireland has been a reliable base which has strengthened the parent company in the United States.
It is a basic and unchanging principle that we will engage with the government of the United States in a spirit of respect and goodwill – a spirit which I have no doubt will continue to define our relationship.
Those of you who follow daily proceedings in the Dáil will know that I regularly face loud demands to criticise and even attack others. But on this point, I am absolutely resolute.
As Taoiseach my duty is to protect our economy and the jobs which come from our focus on building positive relations with others. And I will also always promote our values in a way which is more respectful and more effective than what others are proposing.
And as we look at the need to be active in shaping our future we must also remember the irreplaceable role which small and medium-sized businesses play in our economy and wider society.
A sustainable economy needs a balance between different types of enterprise – and it needs the innovation which comes from having diverse and evolving sectors.
Getting the cost of energy down and working to reduce business costs needs a renewed focus which I am determined the new government will address.
As I have said, it is possible to look at the news every day and wonder what lies ahead. To question how we can protect things we rely on which underpin our economy and society.
But if there is one great lesson we should take from our history it is that no matter how tough the challenges we can overcome them. We retain the ability to shape our future.
And it is clear to me what we have to do.
We have to invest in our people, through supporting education and innovation.
We have to get serious about protecting our seas, the infrastructure below them and the networks we depend on.
We have to step-change our investment in public infrastructure.
We have to develop a new, sustainable, secure and affordable energy system.
We have to be active and assertive advocates for the essential role of trade in delivering progress for all.
And we have to support a diverse range of businesses, reducing costs and empowering innovation.
I am determined that at home and in Europe we will implement a positive agenda to move our country forward.
In our history, we have overcome so much. We have defied so many odds. We have one of the world’s oldest continuous democracies. We have grown from being a country defined by poverty to one which leads the world in many industries. We today have one of the highest literacy levels and fastest rising life expectancies in the developed world.
And we have done this because we have always been willing to tackle obstacles with determination and creativity.
Cork has always understood this. No matter what events emerge in your way, you can always find a way forward.
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