Events
American Presence in Kildare
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| Mr. Jonathan S. Benton, Formern Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Dublin. |
Naas, Co. Kildare, September 18, 2006.
Remarks by Mr. Jonathan S. Benton, Former Deputy Chief of Mission.
Mayor Dukes, Commissioner McCreevy, County Manager Bradley. Councilors, other distinguished guests and hosts.
I am in the unenviable position this morning of not being the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.
My name is Jonathan Benton, and I am the Deputy Chief of Mission – Deputy Ambassador. I am a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, and have had the pleasure of serving here in Ireland with Ambassador Kenny for the past two years.
He was called away at the very last minute to meet with the arriving U.S. Ryder Cup team this morning and could not be here. He sends his greetings, his best wishes, and his deep regrets.
However, I am delighted to be here this morning and to visit Kildare during such an auspicious week, not only for the county, but also for the country.
In several days, the sporting world will turn its eyes to this part of Ireland for the Ryder Cup and will discover, as we here know, what a beautiful, flourishing, and welcoming place Kildare is. I want to commend you on your conspicuous success in meeting the challenges of arranging an event to be seen by millions, if not billions, and I wish you all the best of luck with your efforts, not to mention plenty of sunshine, as the week unfolds. Of course, I would be even happier to see an American victory!
With roughly 40 million Americans claiming Irish ancestry, and with over 600 U.S. subsidiaries in Ireland directly employing over 100,000, I honestly find it difficult to think of the Ryder Cup as an away game for the U.S. team.
Speaking of investment, a theme of today’s event, I wish to highlight the obvious point that U.S. companies have played a central role in Ireland’s now internationally acclaimed economic success.
Throughout this extended Celtic Tiger period, Ireland’s strength has rested in large measure on its performance in information technology, bio-pharmaceuticals, and financial services, all sectors in which U.S. firms are prominent.
As Commissioner McCreevy noted, County Kildare has been at the epicenter of such investment, a true testament to the incentives and conditions that you have created to attract the world’s best firms. Among the numerous U.S. firms that do business in Kildare are Braun Oral B, Control Techniques, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Moduslink, Schmitt, Weatherford Well Screen, Weber Sensors, and Wyeth Medica. By our Embassy’s count, Intel, HP, Braun Oral B, and Wyeth Medica alone account for roughly $8.3 billion in U.S. investment and over 11,000 jobs.
I am proud of the working relationship that the Embassy has had with Irish nationals and local authorities in protecting U.S. investment, and I am confident that such cooperation will continue.
I would also like to note the increasingly heavy Irish investment flows into the United States, the other side of the coin in our liberalized trans-Atlantic market place.
Again, Kildare has been part of that story, with Bord Na Mona’s investments, for example, in North Carolina relating to environmental products, such as water purification systems.
In addition to being golf-crazy, Americans are also horse crazy, and Kildare is also famous on our shores for its horse industry. It is important to recall that the county’s success in this industry was the result of very forward-looking decisions on investment incentives. Leaders who devised and implemented these incentives can not only claim an achievement in business, but also a contribution to Ireland’s cultural life.
On a personal note, I would like to mention how saddened I was to learn last Christmas-time of the death of horse racing and breeding legend Michael Osborne. Through the Darley Flying Start program I got to know Michael personally and, though him, get some direct and colorful insights into Kildare’s pedigree in the world of thoroughbred horses.
The reasons for success in Kildare’s horse industry are embraced in your county development strategy for 2012. Such strategies, which clearly enunciate attainable goals, are one of the important tools for consistent community development and the attraction of new investment. The ‘rapid’ program (revitalizing areas by planning, investment and development) is a core program to achieve the goal of equalizing opportunity for all citizens of Kildare.
Ambassador Kenny and I are strong advocates of exchange programs. I was happy to learn that there is a ‘twin’ relationship between Lexington-Fayette and Kildare County, as well as a twin relationship between Leixlip and the village of Niles in Cook County, Illinois.
Twining enhances exchanges on all levels and adds richness to traditionally deep and strong U.S.-Irish relationships. As a strong advocate of student exchanges, I note that through your twin relationship with Lexington you have developed exchange programs among students at the secondary and third level, and email exchanges at the primary level. I feel very strongly that student exchanges are one of the best pathways to strong business and cultural relationships in the future.
The relationship between the United States and Ireland is a special one. Our histories join us together in a way that is rare among nations. We are bound not just by economic and investment benefits, but also through history by cultural and family ties. By strengthening those ties, we have an opportunity to help each other build new futures that will benefit both of our countries.
Thank you for inviting me here today. I wish you the best of good fortune as you develop the promising future of County Kildare.
